indispensable

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɪndɪˈspɛnsəbəl/

Adjective

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.]

   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, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion‎:

     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.

Noun

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.]

Adjective

indispensable (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.dis.pɑ̃.sabl/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

indispensable (plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

Further reading

• “indispensable” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Adjective

indispensable (plural indispensables)

1. indispensable