different between indispensable vs needful

English

Etymology

From Middle French indispensable, from Medieval Latin indispensabilis, corresponding to in- +? dispensable.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?nd??sp?ns?b?l/

Adjective

indispensable (comparative more indispensable, superlative most indispensable)

1. (ecclesiastical, obsolete) Not admitting ecclesiastical dispensation; not subject to release or exemption; that cannot be allowed by bending the canonical rules. [16th-17th c.]
2. (of duties, rules etc.) Unbendable, that cannot be set aside or ignored. [from 17th c.]

   The law was moral and indispensable. -Bp. Burnet

3. Absolutely necessary or requisite; that one cannot do without. [from 17th c.]

   An indispensable component of a heart-healthy diet.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:requisite

Antonyms

• dispensable

Derived terms

• indispensability
• indispensableness
• indispensably

Translations

Noun

indispensable (plural indispensables)

1. A thing that is not dispensable; a necessity. [from 17th c.]
2. (in the plural, colloquial, dated) Trousers. [from 19th c.]

Catalan

Adjective

indispensable (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.dis.p??.sabl/

Adjective

indispensable (plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

Further reading

• “indispensable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /indispen?sable/, [?n?.d?is.p?n?sa.??le]

Adjective

indispensable (plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

English

Alternative forms

• nedefull, needfull

Etymology

From Middle English needeful, nedeful, from Old English n?odful (“necessary; earnest; zealous”). Equivalent to need +? -ful. Cognate with Dutch noodvol, German notvoll.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ni?df?l/
• Hyphenation: need?ful

Adjective

needful (comparative more needful, superlative most needful)

1. Needed; necessary; mandatory; requisite; indispensible.

   Antonym: needless

   • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 5

     So I went to keep house with him at the Why Not? and my aunt sent down my bag of clothes, and would have made over to Elzevir the pittance that my father left for my keep, but he said it was not needful, and he would have none of it.

2. (archaic) Needy; in need.
   • 1860, Union Society of Savannah, Minutes of the Union Society (page 114)

     […] where his active benevolence was ever found in cheerful co-operation for the cause of the humble & needful orphan […]

Derived terms

• needfully
• needfulness

Noun

needful (plural needfuls)

1. (slang) Ready money; wherewithal.
2. (India, chiefly archaic in other dialects) Anything necessary or requisite.

Usage notes

Commonly found in phrases such as "kindly do the needful", which occurs commonly in Indian English but is held as archaic in other dialects. Global interactions between English speakers have to some extent led to these phrases being seen as stereotypical of Indian English and parodied by speakers of other dialects.

Derived terms

• do the needful

Anagrams

• Neufeld