| gen. |
much-needed (Much-needed is used with these nouns: boost, fund, help, improvement, injection, relief, respite, rest, sleep. OCD. much-needed is often used nonsensically. That is, it's common to read about *much-needed voids and *much-needed gaps, when the true reference is to voids or gaps that need to be filled–e.g.: "He said the four division chairmen will fill a much-needed gap that occurs when a committee chairman takes the floor to push a certain bill." Frank Phillips, "Finneran Plans Bigger Bonuses for Four Allies," Boston Globe, 27 Mar. 1997, at A1. If the gap is much needed, then the division chairs will spoil things by filling it. GMAU. In an interview on Tuesday, she said the ordeal pushed her to turn her work around in the form of a new project that she described as a much-needed personal renewal. In the Year of the Horse, on a cold night in January, after my mother is taken away and the four of us have eaten a much-needed meal, we finally reenter the red brick house shrouded in frozen ivy. Friends and family provided much-needed encouragement at key points along the way.  wordnik.com Alexander Demidov) |
