dispensable

American  

[dih-spen-suh-buhl] / dɪˈspɛn sə bəl /

adjective

1. capable of being dispensed with or done without; not necessary or essential.

   Synonyms:

   extraneous, unimportant, unessential, unnecessary, expendable

2. capable of being dispensed or administered.

   The money is not dispensable at present.

3. Roman Catholic Church. capable of being permitted or forgiven, as an offense or sin.

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dispensable British  

/ dɪˈspɛnsəbəl /

adjective

1. not essential; expendable

2. capable of being distributed

3. (of a law, vow, etc) able to be relaxed

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Other Word Forms

• dispensability
  noun
• dispensableness
  noun
• nondispensable
  adjective
• undispensable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of dispensable

1525–35; < Medieval Latin dispēnsābilis, equivalent to Latin dispēns ( āre ) to distribute by weight ( see dispense) + -ābilis -able

Explanation

Something that's dispensable isn't necessary — you don't really need it. Your vintage typewriter is cool, but it's also dispensable, since you can type and print with your laptop. If robots are invented to do most of the jobs in the world, human workers will become dispensable, or unneeded. Likewise, many home chefs might insist that if you have a really good, sharp knife, other tools like peelers and choppers and food processors are completely dispensable. The earliest definition of this word was "subject to dispensation," from the Latin dispensare, "disburse or distribute," although by the 1640s dispensable meant "that which can be done without."

Example Sentences

He later founded and ran a religion, the Dispensable Church, in Santa Fe, N.M., which combined elements of Buddhism, Christianity and other traditions.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2010