imprescindible

English

Adjective

imprescindible (comparative more imprescindible, superlative most imprescindible)

1. Indispensable, essential, imperative, vital.
   • 1971, Helen Silving, Criminal Justice, volume II, →ISBN, page 1003:

     It is imprescindible that the actor—in his lay mind—visualize the execution of an act which bears all the elements that are required by a statutory crime definition.

   • 1972, Modern Law and Society, page 17:

     Courage to be unpopular means in criminal law punishing only in cases where punishment is imprescindible in the interest of social protection.

   • 1997, John Thomas Graham, Theory of History in Ortega y Gasset: “The Dawn of Historical Reason”, University of Missouri Press, →ISBN, page 345:

     The fattest example of this mistake has been the political exaltation of manual work, simply because it is imprescindible.

Catalan

Etymology

im- +‎ prescindible

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [im.pɾə.sinˈdib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [im.pɾe.sinˈdi.ble]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

imprescindible m or f (masculine and feminine plural imprescindibles)

1. indispensable

Related terms

• prescindir

Further reading

• “imprescindible”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Galician

Alternative forms

• imprescindíbel

Etymology

From im- +‎ prescindible.

Adjective

imprescindible m or f (plural imprescindibles)

1. indispensable

Spanish

Etymology

From im- +‎ prescindible. Compare Portuguese imprescindível.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /impɾesθinˈdible/ [ĩm.pɾes.θĩn̪ˈd̪i.β̞le] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /impɾesinˈdible/ [ĩm.pɾe.sĩn̪ˈd̪i.β̞le] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: im‧pres‧cin‧di‧ble

Adjective

imprescindible m or f (masculine and feminine plural imprescindibles)

1. indispensable, essential, imperative, vital

   Antonym: prescindible

   • 2024 October 21, Lucía Franco, “Los antiabortistas abren cinco locales alrededor de la Clínica Dator para multiplicar su acoso a mujeres embarazadas”, in El País‎^[1], archived from the original on 22 October 2024:

     Desde la Asociación de clínicas acreditadas para la interrupción del embarazo (ACAI) aseguran que es imprescindible abordar ministerialmente la no resolución del problema, junto a otros asuntos tan importantes como la falta de formación profesional o los registros de objetores que están procurando una objeción a la carta que vulnera los derechos de las mujeres.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “imprescindible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025