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 ( dispense ) + -ābilis -able

Example Sentences

I supported myself as a freelance designer before I got married, but after marriage, Francis’s career took off quickly and made my earnings dispensable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

Matthew Mott was dispensable enough to take the fall for the previous failures but Brendon McCullum, given the keys to all England sides to mould as he pleases until 2027, is not.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2025

“China-U.S. cooperation is no longer a dispensable option for the two countries or even for the world, but a must-answer question that must be seriously addressed,” he said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024

In his remarks, Francis also repeated his opposition to euthanasia, which he has long decried as a symptom of a “throwaway culture” which treats the elderly and infirm as dispensable.

From Washington Times • Sep. 23, 2023

Memory is not a dispensable resource that can be outsourced to USB sticks or even libraries; memory is the stuff we think with.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith