I. ˈnēdfəl adjective
Etymology: Middle English nedefull, nedfull, from nede, ned need + -full -ful
1. : having need : needy
needful families
2. : necessary for supply or relief : requisite , indispensable
the one thing needful
provided with everything needful and remain aboard — Herman Melville
power to … make all needful rules and regulations — U.S. Constitution
buying only what was strictly needful — W.S.Maugham
Synonyms:
needful , necessary , requisite , indispensable , and essential can mean, in common, required, usually urgently. needful is the weakest, applying to anything required to fill a want or need
the town fathers found it needful to seek a new place to the west for grazing — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
pots and pans, kettles and cranes, axes and nails, and other needful things which could not be made by men hewing homes from a wilderness — Harriot B. Barbour
necessary implies more pressing need
until we know how much of this damage can be repaired and how quickly the necessary repairs can be made — F.D.Roosevelt
we are making them independent of the knowledge necessary to make their work satisfactory — M.R.Cohen
amino acids necessary for protein synthesis — Americana Annual
requisite suggests an imposed requirement, applying usually to what is necessary by the nature of the end or the larger purpose to be served
attack their other studies with the vigor requisite to success — C.H.Grandgent
the skill requisite to direct these immense machines is proportionate to their magnitude and complicated mechanism — T.L.Peacock
indispensable applies to something that cannot be done without if the end is to be attained
eliminate irrelevancies and retain what is indispensable — John Dewey
reading quite indispensable to a wise man — R.W.Emerson
stability of cost is indispensable to sound business planning — H.S.Truman
essential is often interchangeable with indispensable though less dramatic in implication, implying simply inherent necessity
food is essential to life
the award of fellowships and research grants is essential to the accomplishment of this high purpose — Dexter Perkins
unrestrained competition, which is generally regarded as essential to modern capitalism — M.R.Cohen
II. noun
( -s )
: something needed or requisite:
a. : the thing that must be done — used with the
do the needful
b. : a personal necessary (as a piece of apparel or a toilet article)
summer needfuls
small needfuls
c. : money — used with the
had the needful to buy what he wanted