indispensable

[in-di-spen-suh-buhl]

adjective

1. absolutely necessary, essential, or requisite.

   an indispensable member of the staff.

   Synonyms: needed

2. incapable of being disregarded or neglected.

   an indispensable obligation.

noun

1. a person or thing that is indispensable.

indispensable

/ ˌɪndɪˈspɛnsəbəl /

adjective

1. absolutely necessary; essential

2. not to be disregarded or escaped

   an indispensable role

noun

1. an indispensable person or thing

Other Word Forms

• indispensability noun
• indispensably adverb
• indispensableness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of indispensable¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin indispēnsābilis “not subject to dispensation.” See in- ³, dispensable

Synonym Study

See necessary.

Example Sentences

Some founders may feel, “I am indispensable, and I don’t want to give my baby to one person,” said Ranjay Gulati, a professor at Harvard Business School who has studied leadership transitions among startup CEOs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And for the Ukrainian army, AI has become indispensable.

Read more on BBC

He is not indispensable, but Tuchel will be increasingly convinced England can survive without him.

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The ticker remained an indispensable investing tool into the 1970s, but the ticker-tape parade outlasted it.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I am convinced in this way His Holiness will make an indispensable contribution so that COP30 may go down in history as the great moment of implementation," she said.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• basic 
• crucial 
• essential 
• fundamental 
• imperative 
• necessary 
• vital