needful
needful Lexical Profile
needful Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Necessary, required, or indispensable for a particular purpose or circumstance.
"The committee allocated all the needful funds to complete the library restoration on schedule."
Experiencing a state of poverty, want, or need; needy (now dated or literary).
"The charitable parishioner distributed warm winter coats to the most needful families in the village."
• noun
That which is necessary or required (almost always preceded by 'the', especially in the phrase 'do the needful').
"Please review the attached invoice and do the needful so that the vendor is paid before Friday."
Ready money or cash (preceded by 'the'; dated slang).
"He was eager to invest in the new shipping venture, but he lacked the needful to buy a partnership."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern Western English, 'needful' sounds formal or dated compared to 'necessary', though the nominal phrase 'do the needful' remains standard and widely used in Indian English business communication to mean 'take the necessary action'.
• Rhymes for needful
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English nedeful, equivalent to need + -ful, replacing Old English niedful.