dispensable

comparative more dispensable · superlative most dispensable

1. Able to be done without; easily replaced.

   Synonyms: disposable, expendable, inessential · Antonyms: indispensable, nondispensable, nondisposable, irreplaceable, essential, crucial, vital

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.

   2006, Pamela Lewis, Achieving Best Behavior for Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Parents and Carers, Jessica Kingsley Publsihers, published 2006, →ISBN, page 132

   Synonyms: distributable · Antonyms: indispensable, undispensable, nondistributable, undistributable

3. usuallyrule; vow; rule; vowSubject 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.

   2011, Will Adam, Legal Flexibility and the Mission of the Church: Dispensation and Economy in Ecclesiastical Law, →ISBN, page 15

   Antonyms: indispensable

4. nutritionbiochemistryNot 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.

   2008, Marie Dunford, J. Andrew Doyle, Nutrition for Sport and Exercise, Thomson Wadsworth, published 2008, →ISBN, page 161

   Synonyms: nonessential · Antonyms: essential

plural dispensables

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