Indispensable

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪndɪˈspÉ›nsÉ™bÉ™l/

Origin

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

Full definition of indispensable

Adjective

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.The law was moral and indispensable. -Bp. Burnet
3. Absolutely necessary or requisite; that one cannot do without. from 17th c.An indispensable component of a heart-healthy diet.
• 2006, w, Internal Combustion Chapter 2, 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.

Synonyms

Antonyms

• dispensable

Derived terms

• indispensability
• indispensableness
• indispensably

Noun

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