English

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.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:requisite

Antonyms

• dispensable

Derived terms

• indispensability
• indispensableness
• indispensably

Translations

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.]

Catalan

Adjective

indispensable m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

indispensable m, f ‎(plural indispensables)

1. indispensable

Spanish

Adjective

indispensable m, f ‎(plural indispensables)

1. indispensable