special-needs

Definition of special-needsnext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of special-needs While the district’s overall student enrollment has declined dramatically in recent years, the special-needs population has actually increased, advocates noted. Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026 Rodriguez works with special-needs children, according to her arrest affidavit. Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2026 For some seven years, MindShiftED has focused on supporting some of the city’s poorest families, parents of special-needs students and those who speak only Spanish. Noah Alcala Bach, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Mar. 2026 The event is a fundraiser organized by the Active 4 All Evergreen Foundation to support programs run by the Evergreen Park and Recreation District, including the INSPIRE special-needs program, which helps keep kids with challenges active. Cbscolorado.com Staff, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026 Early literacy and special-needs inclusion, including opt-in tools that support deaf children and parental involvement, are areas where ideology gives way to child development science . Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026 Alzir, who is part of a special tutoring program at Andrew that works with special-needs kids, counts communication as his calling card. Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026 Ever, Coffee and Creps — that employs 16 special-needs adults. Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 31 Jan. 2026 Their mission at the Smythe stop was to visit a special-needs class and three other classrooms recognized for outstanding attendance, as well as living up to the school’s ROAR — Respectful & Kind, Always Safe, Own Choices, Regulate Emotions — mantra. Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for special-needs
Adjective
  • The organization analyzed actuarial figures from the Social Security Administration and found that as many as 400,000 poor and disabled people and indigent older people could have their support cut or eliminated.
    Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
  • There are buckets of disabled mobile phones.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The shelter was at the center of angry protests after an ailing elephant was relocated to Vantara last year, BBC News reported.
    CBS News, CBS News, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Durant’s ailing right knee — and the attention surrounding it — has been the focal point around this team since a bruise suffered during practice last Wednesday forced him to miss Saturday’s game, an ugly 107-98 first-round loss.
    William Guillory, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • If all three of them were to become incapacitated, the next in line for president would be 92-year-old longtime Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley, the president pro tempore of the Senate.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Other social welfare programs have safety valves to protect weak, incapacitated or disabled clients from being exploited by people in power.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Trump—fixated on securing his legacy with a ballroom and a triumphal arch—appears increasingly erratic, unfocused, and unfit for the job assigned to him.
    John Whitehead, Oc Register, 23 Apr. 2026
  • If venue personnel deem any person to be a threat, or otherwise unfit, in their sole discretion, he or she will not be permitted access and shall forfeit the prize.
    AJC.com, AJC.com, 23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • The man who died was a quadriplegic, unable to escape on his own.
    Shelley Bortz, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Sharod Knox has lived this way since a 2002 shooting left him quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator.
    Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • If they are deemed mentally unwell, the court will assign the least restrictive setting for treatment, per Nebraska law.
    Selina Guevara, NBC news, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Prominent conservative pundits − from former Fox News hosts Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and podcaster Candace Owens − are suggesting the president is unwell.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Amezcua recalled meeting a paraplegic woman with significant health issues who declined hospital care because, in her experience, she was treated briefly and then discharged back to the street.
    Mona Darwish, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Johnny Joestar, a paraplegic former jockey who’s already wealthy, joins not for the money, but to pursue Gyro, a strange man with two strange spinning electric balls that seemingly can give him the ability to walk again.
    Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are most likely to get sick from these germs.
    Jonel Aleccia, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2026
  • The researchers also hope to test the protocol earlier in pregnancy, before a pregnant person gets seriously sick.
    Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 27 Apr. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Special-needs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/special-needs. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster