What's the difference between needful and necessary?

[Denny]

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #278 "Work and job expressions", question 8

So let's not complain too much about it because we simply have to accept it as a ......... fact of life.

(a) required
(b) demanded
(c) needful
(d) necessary

English Language Tests, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #278 "Work and job expressions", answer 8

So let's not complain too much about it because we simply have to accept it as a necessary fact of life.

Correct answer: (d) necessary
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What's the difference between needful and necessary?

Denny

[Alan]

Hi,

Both adjectives indicate what is required or needed. I would suggest that 'needful' is somewhat oldfashioned and wouldn't usually be used in contemporary English.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Mister Micawber]

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Needful also seems to be a noticeable signature of Indian English.

"Do the needful" is a phrase which means "do that which is necessary", and carries the respectful implication that you trust the other party to understand what needs doing without being given detailed instruction. It is commonly used in India and widely attributed as an Indianism, but the phrase may have its origins in British English instead, according to the Universal Dictionary of the English Language of 1932.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Nessie]

could you please explain more detailedly about the difference among "required", "requisite","demanded","necessary"? and why can't we choose "required" in that question?
thank you very much
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[Mister Micawber]

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In the phrase 'a necessary fact of life', necessary means 'happening or existing inevitably'-- it is a matter of fate. Your other words do not fit that definition.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's