dispensable

[ dih-spen-suh-buhl ]

adjective

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

   Synonyms: unimportant, extraneous, 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.

dispensable

/ dɪˈspɛnsəbəl /

adjective

1. not essential; expendable
2. capable of being distributed
3. (of a law, vow, etc) able to be relaxed

Derived Forms

• disˌpensaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• dis·pensa·bili·ty dis·pensa·ble·ness noun
• nondis·pensa·ble adjective
• undis·pensa·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dispensable¹

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

Example Sentences

Under President Donald Trump, the once “indispensable nation” that won World War II and built a new world order has become dispensable indeed.

From Salon

Also called the afterbirth, it’s the human body’s only dispensable organ, which you once grew of your own flesh, in your earliest weeks and months in the womb, then, upon entering the world, no longer needed.

From Slate

“It is very shocking that such a large collection at a wealthy university would be deemed dispensable,” said Regina Baucom, a plant geneticist at the University of Michigan.

From New York Times

However, Contet's collaborator Alex Dopico, MD, PhD, of the University of Tennessee, had identified a residue in the mouse BK α subunit that is required for ethanol to activate BK channels but is dispensable for normal BK channel activity, as shown in frog eggs.

From Science Daily

“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