indispensable

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French indispensable, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  indispensabilis, corresponding to in- +‎ dispensable.

Pronunciation

• 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^[1]:

     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

• See also Thesaurus:requisite

Antonyms

• dispensable

Derived terms

• indispensability
• indispensableness
• indispensably

Translations

not dispensable

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: незаме́нны (njezamjénny), неабхо́дны (njeabxódny)
• Catalan: indispensable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: onmisbaar (nl)
• Finnish: välttämätön (fi), korvaamaton (fi)
• French: indispensable (fr)
• Georgian: აუცილებელი (aucilebeli)
• German: unverzichtbar (de)
• Hungarian: kihagyhatatlan (hu), elmaradhatatlan, nélkülözhetetlen (hu), elengedhetetlen (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingua: indispensabile
• Italian: indispensabile (it)
• Norwegian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: niezbędny (pl)
• Portuguese: indispensável (pt)
• Romanian: indispensabil (ro)
• Russian: (lit.: irreplaceable) незамени́мый (ru) (nezamenímyj), необходи́мый (ru) (neobxodímyj)
• Slovak: nepostrádateľný m
• Spanish: indispensable (es)
• Ukrainian: незамі́нний (nezamínnyj), необхі́дний (neobxídnyj)

not subject to exemption

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: недопускащ изключения (nedopuskašt izključenija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 必不可少的

• Czech: nepostradatelný m
• Dutch: onmisbaar (nl)
• Finnish: ehdoton (fi)
• German: ausnahmlos, grundsätzlich (de)
• Norwegian: please add this translation if you can

  Bokmål: uten unntak, unntaksløs, unntakslaus

  Nynorsk: utan unnatak

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: indispensável (pt)
• Romanian: indispensabil (ro)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Serbo-Croatian: neophodan (sh) m
• Spanish: indispensable (es)
• Turkish: istisnasiz, muafiyetsiz

absolutely necessary

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: абавязко́вы (abavjazkóvy)
• Bulgarian: необходим (bg) (neobhodim)
• Catalan: indispensable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 必要的

• Dutch: onontbeerlijk (nl)
• Finnish: olennainen (fi), välttämätön (fi)
• French: indispensable (fr)
• German: unabdingbar (de), unabkömmlich (de), unentbehrlich (de), unerlässlich (de), unverzichtbar (de)
• Greek: αναντικατάστατος (el) (anantikatástatos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: uunnværlig

  Nynorsk: uunnverleg

• Portuguese: indispensável (pt), imprescindível (pt)
• Russian: обяза́тельный (ru) (objazátelʹnyj)
• Slovak: nutné n, nevyhnutne potrebné n, neodmysliteľný m
• Spanish: imprescindible (es), indispensable (es)
• Swedish: oumbärlig (sv)
• Turkish: elzem (tr), zaruri (tr)
• Ukrainian: обов'язко́вий (obovʺjazkóvyj)

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.]

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Catalan

Adjective

indispensable m or f (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.dis.pɑ̃.sabl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

indispensable (plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

Further reading

• “indispensable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Spanish

Adjective

indispensable m or f (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

1. indispensable