Skip to content

dispensable

adjective

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L336157 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /dɪsˈpɛnsəbəl/ / [dɪsˈpʰɛnsəbɫ̩] / [-bəɫ]

adj

Etymology: Etymology tree English dispense Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English dispensable From dispense + -able.

  1. Able to be done without; easily replaced.
  2. Capable of being dispensed.

    The reward could be a preferred food, a sticker, blowing some bubbles, a noisemaker the child enjoys, a pat on the back, or some other easily dispensable reward that does not take the child away from the task at hand for more than a moment or two.

  3. Subject to dispensation; possible to relax, exempt from, or annul.

    Jones' use of the term 'Ecclesiastical Law' in his definition of dispensations in Roman Catholic canon law points to the Roman Catholic distinction between divine law, from which no dispensation is possible, and merely ecclesiastical law, which is dispensable in certain circumstances.

  4. Not essential to be taken in as part of an organism's diet, as it can be synthesized de novo.

    The difference in absorption rate is not surprising since whey has a high percentage of indispensable amino acids, which are absorbed more rapidly than dispensable amino acids.

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English dispense Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English dispensable From dispense + -able.

  1. Something that can reasonably be dispensed with; something unnecessary.