indispensable
adjective
- something that cannot be avoided or dispensed with
- indispensable
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌɪndɪˈspɛnsəbəl/ / /ˌɪndɪˈspensəbəl/
adj
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French indispensable, from Medieval Latin indispensābilis, corresponding to in- + dispensable.
- Absolutely necessary or requisite; that one cannot do without.
“An indispensable component of a heart-healthy diet.”
“But through the oligopoly, charcoal fuel proliferated throughout London's trades and industries. By the 1200s, brewers and bakers, tilemakers, glassblowers, pottery producers, and a range of other craftsmen all became hour-to-hour consumers of charcoal. This only magnified the indispensable nature of the oligopolists.”
- Unbendable, that cannot be set aside or ignored.
“The law was moral and indispensable.”
“Why is marking a book indispensable to reading it? First, it keeps you awake—not merely conscious, but wide awake.”
- Not admitting ecclesiastical dispensation; not subject to release or exemption; that cannot be allowed by bending the canonical rules.
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French indispensable, from Medieval Latin indispensābilis, corresponding to in- + dispensable.
- A thing that is not dispensable; a necessity.
- Trousers.