dispensable

adjective

dis·​pens·​able di-ˈspen(t)-sə-bəl 

: capable of being dispensed with

dispensability

di-ˌspen(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

Synonyms

• gratuitous
• inessential
• needless
• nonessential
• uncalled-for
• unessential
• unnecessary
• unwarranted

Examples of dispensable in a Sentence

Computers have made typewriters dispensable.

Do you consider any of the staff to be dispensable?

Recent Examples on the Web

Veteran players like Anderson, Buddy Hield and Payton — ahead of both youngsters in the pecking order initially — could become more dispensable if Post and Santos carve out true roles. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025

Two of the year’s most read AI articles dealt with chatbots’ coding abilities, while another looked at the best way to prompt chatbots and image generators (and found that humans are dispensable). —IEEE Spectrum, 31 Dec. 2024

Photography helped normalize lynching in the eyes of white audiences: these extrajudicial acts were captured by government officials and published without shame, as though there was no debate on who was dispensable. —Emmanuel Iduma, ARTnews.com, 16 Sep. 2024

Once useful anti-Communist strongmen became dispensable. —Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

dispensable

adjective

dis·​pens·​able dis-ˈpen(t)-sə-bəl 

: not necessary : nonessential

dispensability

-ˌpen(t)-sə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun