Drive and Need

Drive

Drive noun - A strong wish for something.
Usage example: a drive to succeed in the television news business

Need is a synonym for drive in desire topic. In some cases you can use "Need" instead the word "Drive" as a noun or a verb, when it comes to topics like urge.

Nearby Words: driving, driven, driver, driveway

Need

Need noun - A state of being without something necessary, desirable, or useful.

Drive is a synonym for need. Sometimes you can use "Drive" instead the word "Need" as a noun or a verb.

Nearby Words: needed, needs, needy, needless, needful

How words are described

emotional emotional drive emotional need
human human drive human need
old old drive old need
high high drive high need
Other adjectives: low, long, specific, single, strong, powerful, actual, constant, big, increased, intense, little, innate, personal, new, desperate, last, obsessive.

Common collocations

character drive character need character
power drive power need power
man drive man need man
people drive people need people
Other words: men, someone, time, way, friends.

Both words in one sentence

  • Unable to form a coherent defence on their own, some have turned to an ancient prophecy that fortells that heroes from another world will arrive in their hour of need and drive back the forces of darkness.
  • Video Game / Red Orchestra Not only do you need to be a tank commander to drive a tank, tanks need multiple crewmen to function efficiently.
  • In the first movie, he is shown to drive the Patty Wagon quite competently without the need for a license, saying such a thing is not needed to drive a sandwich.
    Source: Giftedly Bad
Cite this Source
Need and Drive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/drive/need
Drive & Need. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/drive/need>.
Need or Drive. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/drive/need.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "drive" and "need" have occurred on timeline