dispense with

Idioms  

1. Manage without, forgo, as in We can dispense with the extra help . Shakespeare had this idiom in Timon of Athens (3:2): “Men must learn now with pity to dispense.” [c. 1600]

2. Get rid of, do away with, as in The European Union is trying to dispense with tariff barriers . [Late 1500s]

3. Exempt one from a law, promise, or obligation, as in He asked the court to dispense with swearing on the Bible . This usage originally applied to religious obligations (to which the Pope granted dispensation ). [Early 1500s]

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Example Sentences

Dispense with the label, and we all fall on a spectrum measuring degrees of mental illness and mental health.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2022

Dispense with them, and we’re speaking a much more machine-friendly language.

From Slate • Nov. 2, 2018

Innovations for 2018 Dispense with the third-place play-off.

From The Guardian • Jul. 14, 2014

Dispense with the arctic explorers telling how they drove themselves through snowdrifts in sub-zero temperatures; consider no more upon the decorated soldiers, the great Olympians, the endless progression of sports coaches.

From The Guardian • Aug. 12, 2011

Dispense with your leader now, if you are pretty close to the hounds, for your horse is gathering confidence with every stride.

From Riding Recollections, 5th ed. by Whyte-Melville, G. J. (George John)

Related Words

• abolish
• dispose of
• disregard
• do without
• forgo
• get rid of
• ignore
• relinquish
• waive