When a person is in a time of need, it means that they require help at that moment. You can say that someone is ‘in time of need’ when they have less of things that they need to survive at a particular point of their lives.
It is at the point of need that a person will know who really stands for him or her. At that time, you will need friends and family members who will stick with you.
Whoever is willing to help you through it and stand by you should be there to say, ‘I am ready to stand with you in time of your need’. The communication may not occur through words, it could be by action.
The most important thing is that the person feels support when he or she needs it. A time of need is a very critical time for everyone as we all pass through it. However, the truth remains that most people may avoid you when you tell them that you are in a time of need.
So, what words can you use to better communicate that you are in a place and time of need? In this article, we will be writing fifteen (15) better words that one can use to say that they are ‘in a time of need’.
15 Synonyms for “in time of need”
- In A Pinch
- When Things Get Bad
- When Facing difficulty
- In Time of Hardship
- If It Comes to Push
- As needed
- Necessary
- If forced
- In A Major Crisis
- In An Emergency
- Put in a Shove
- Need (arise)
- When Things Get Bad
- (If) required
- When Everything Fails
In A Pinch
‘In A Pinch’ is a better word to use instead of ‘In time of need’. The word pinch can be used in various ways. One can say, ‘if it comes to the pinch’ or ‘at a pinch’. They are both correct.
The first sub-phrase ‘if it comes to the pinch’ means to succeed at doing what is needed at a critical point. The critical moment could be a time of intense pressure or serious difficulty
The second subphrase, ‘at a pinch’, is used when something should be done in a specific circumstance especially if it is necessary. It is also used when a thing has to be used in a major situation because it is absolutely compulsory.
Irrespective of the phrase you use, it is a better way of expressing ‘in time of need’.
When Things Get Bad
When you come to a point in your life when things are unpleasant, then you can say that things are bad. When Things Get Bad is a suitable replacement for the phrase, ‘in time of need’.
It signifies that a person’s life is full of problems. For instance, when asked, ‘How’s it going?’, you could say, ‘Things are bad’ to communicate that you have problems and would need help.
The word Bad goes further to explain how serious or severe something is. So, you can use it to quantify how seriously you need help in your time of need.
When Facing Difficulty
When using the word when facing difficulty to attempt to explain a time of need, it talks about a situation that is not easy and that leads to problems. Such situations can then be called a time of difficulty.
In explaining a time of need, difficulty is also interpreted as the quality of being hard. Thus, a person can be said to be in a time of need when things are hard for him or her.
He/she may be finding it difficult to get a job or to successfully combat a sickness. As far as the state the person is currently in is so hard, that he/she will require extra efforts from people to overcome, then he/she can be said to be ‘in time of need’.
In times of Hardship
The word hardship is also another great alternative for the expression, ‘in time of need’. It talks about that point in a person’s life where they are in a situation that is considered difficult probably because they do not have access to enough basic life amenities.
Hardship also refers to when a person is in an unpleasant circumstance because they do not have enough money, food, clothes, and other important things needed for living.
A person experiencing hardship is in need of support from others since he/she may not have what it takes to cater completely to him/herself. That is to say, when a person is experiencing hardship, he/she is ‘in time of need’.
If It Comes to Push
The word push is usually associated with the idea of changing the position of a thing by using your hands. However, in using push to explain ‘in time of need’, it is used as a phrase.
For instance, you can say, ‘if it comes to a push’ or ‘at a push’ or ‘when push comes to shove’ to refer to times of need. If it comes to a push symbolizes something that needs to be done when a situation has become so bad. It could be that the person direly needs help.
A push is an idiom used to explain using extra effort or difficulty to achieve something. Lastly, when push comes to shove is a phrase that explains what a person does when everything in his life has failed him.
As needed
The term as needed in describing a time of need, refers to requiring something essential at a particular time. That is to say, you do not just ask for that thing because you want it but because it is important.
As needed could be used interchangeably with if need be. They both mean the need to acquire a thing once a deficiency is noticed. So instead of simply saying in time of need, you could just say as needed.
Necessary
When a person is in time of need, they are at a point where they need life essentials for a purpose. For instance, if a person lacks food, they will require assistance (either financially or otherwise) else they may die.
That is to say, necessity still communicates a time of need. It shows that something compulsory must happen for a reason. A person who is having health problems and is admitted to the hospital is in a time of need.
This is because he or she will require the attention of medical personnel to reveal what is wrong with him/her and find a cure. The word “if necessary” can be used in different phrases to explain ‘in time of need’.
They include – ‘if necessary’, ‘in case of necessity’, ‘peradventure if it is deemed necessary’, etc.
If forced
Usually, when a person is in time of need, things are out of their control which is why they need as much help as they can get. It is at this point that you can use the word force to explain it.
When using force to explain in time of need, it means that something bad is happening against your wish that is putting you in a position where you will need help to survive.
In A Major Crisis
A person who is in a time of need can be said to be in a major crisis. Being in a crisis refers to the time when the problem that someone is facing has reached its worst point.
At that point, the individual will definitely require assistance because while the problem will need to be solved, he/she may not have the resources to solve it.
It can be used in the following instances – ‘Jane was having an identity crisis and needed help realizing who she was’, ‘The unsolved issues in their marriage led it to a crisis so they went for therapy’, etc.
In An Emergency
Someone who is in time of need can also be in an emergency. When a person is in an emergency, he or she finds him/herself in a serious situation that happens suddenly.
The situation will require immediate action on their part to resolve it because it is a dire one. For instance, when someone has a medical emergency, they will urgent treatment from medical professionals.
Another instance is when a person keeps extra cash aside for when they fall into an emergency or find themselves in a time of need.
Put in a Shove
A person who is in a time of need can say that life has put him in a shove. That means, that situations around him have pushed him into a bad place that he is probably not prepared for.
Most times when a person is shoved, they lose their balance and may fall into a bad place. This applies to a person in time of need; he or she has been shoved at a place where he/she requires special assistance to survive.
Need (arise)
It is usually when a person is in a time of need that he/she requires assistance. Thus, saying a person will receive help should the need arise is also another way of using the term ‘in time of need’.
The term, ‘need (arise)’, is used when a person wants to refer to what usually happens when an urgent situation arises.
For instance, a person can say, ‘I am not scared of getting sick, I can easily go the hospital if the need arises’ or ‘Money is the least of my problems, I can always call my dad for help if the need arises’ etc.
When Things Get Bad
When situations around a person gets bad it could then put the person in a place or time of need. Depending on how you use the phrase, it could either refer to the process that led to a time of need or it could refer to the current position the person is in after things have gone wrong.
For instance, when you say that things are getting bad it may mean that there is still hope and that if things resolve themselves, the person may not be in time of need.
However, when you say that things have gone bad, it then means that the person is already in a time of need and will require help.
(If) required
The presence of if in the term (if) required shows that unless it is absolutely necessary before something happen. That means that prior to being in time of need a person may not receive aid from anybody.
Most times, even when the person is already in a bad place, help will not be extended unless absolutely compulsory. Thus, what the person requires is usually infrequent and only arises when outstanding circumstances exist.
When Everything Fails
It is inevitable that a time will come, when we may need help. At that time, it could be that everything or everyone we know has failed us. This means that we may have to seek specialized help.
The above shows that (everything) fails can be a better term for expressing being ‘in time of need’. The term will let the hearer know how bad the situation has gotten and how urgent help is needed.
For instance, you could say, ‘When everything had failed, she turned to God for help and direction’ or ‘She self-medicated and when everything failed her, she had to go to the hospital for immediate care’ or ‘She tried everything to lose some weight and when everything failed, she gave up trying’.
Wrap Up
If you ever find yourself ‘in a time of need’, be aware that it is perfectly normal and that we all go through it. It is not the time to be depressed or to die in silence. You should ask for help.
Let people know that you need assistance. For those who may not know how to express themselves in that area, we have listed and explained 15 better words that can be used to say that you are ‘in time of need’.
Depending on what your situation is or how urgent or not urgent it is, you can pick a word from the list to communicate your situation.
Some of the words have sentence construction so you will have a guideline on how to start your statement.