dispensable

Definitions

dis- (apart, out) + pens (from Latin pensāre, 'to weigh out') + -able = 'able to be weighed out / handed out (and let go).' To dispense is to weigh out portions and give them away; something dispensable can be given out or let go without harm — i.e. not essential, you can manage without it.

Example Sentences

• 1.

  In a crisis, many luxuries suddenly seem dispensable.

• 2.

  No employee should feel completely dispensable to the team.

• 3.

  These extra features are useful but ultimately dispensable.

Easily Confused

dispensable vs indispensable — They're opposites built on the same root. Dispensable = can be done without (non-essential). Indispensable = cannot be done without (absolutely essential). The in- flips the meaning; don't let the long shared spelling fool you into mixing them up.