Wiktionary

indispensable

English edit

Etymology edit

From Middle French indispensable, from Medieval Latin indispensābilis, corresponding to in- +‎ dispensable.

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪndɪˈspɛnsəbəl/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Adjective edit

indispensable (comparative more indispensable, superlative most indispensable)

  1. (ecclesiastical, obsolete) Not admitting ecclesiastical dispensation; not subject to release or exemption; that cannot be allowed by bending the canonical rules. [16th–17th c.]
  2. (of duties, rules etc.) Unbendable, that cannot be set aside or ignored. [from 17th c.]
    • 1679–1715, Gilbert Burnet, “(please specify the page)”, in The History of the Reformation of the Church of England., London: […] T[homas] H[odgkin] for Richard Chiswell, […]:
      The law was moral and indispensable.
  3. Absolutely necessary or requisite; that one cannot do without. [from 17th c.]
    An indispensable component of a heart-healthy diet.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion‎[1]:
      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.
    • 7 July 2022, Boris Johnson, resignation speech‎[2]:
      And my friends in politics, no-one is remotely indispensable and our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times.

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

Noun edit

indispensable (plural indispensables)

  1. A thing that is not dispensable; a necessity. [from 17th c.]
  2. (in the plural, colloquial, dated) Trousers. [from 19th c.]

Catalan edit

Etymology edit

From in- +‎ dispensable.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

indispensable m or f (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

  1. indispensable
    Antonym: dispensable

Further reading edit

French edit

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

indispensable (plural indispensables)

  1. indispensable

Further reading edit

Spanish edit

Etymology edit

From in- +‎ dispensable.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /indispenˈsable/ [ĩn̪.d̪is.pẽnˈsa.β̞le]
  • Rhymes: -able
  • Syllabification: in‧dis‧pen‧sa‧ble

Adjective edit

indispensable m or f (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

  1. indispensable
    Synonym: imprescindible
    Antonym: dispensable

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=indispensable&oldid=75887415"