What is the difference of 'needy' and 'poor'? In the context of helping (needy|poor) people from country XY.
First I dismissed the use of needy, because I heard it in negative context (like "That guy was so needy, he was almost begging for her number…"). So I preferred to use "poor" instead. But this is probably a stupid argument, as I found later.
I've been trying to find the difference and I only found that many times these adjectives go together, like in this dictionary
or in the phrase "Caring for the Poor and Needy". But the fact that they are used in such a way means that there must be some difference in the meaning; otherwise who would put two synonyms in one term?
Best Answer
Poor in the economic sense means living in poverty, i.e., not having enough money according to some guideline. For governmental purposes in the US, that guideline is set by the federal and state governments and is based on income and assets. Needy in the economic sense means so poor as to be unable to obtain the necessities of life -- food, clothing, shelter, etc.
If you're needy, then you're poor. But if you're poor, state welfare and private charity may provide enough to make sure you're not needy.