State of requiring a great degree of affection and reassurance, while in extreme poverty? (9)
I believe the answer is:
neediness
'poverty?' is the definition.
(I know that neediness is a type of poverty)
'state of requiring a great degree of affection and reassurance while in extreme' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'state' could be 'need' (need is a kind of state) and 'need' is found in the answer.
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for neediness that I've seen before include "Poverty" , "Wanting state" , "Want" , "Insecurity" , "Destitution" .)