# indispensable
## English
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ɪndɪˈspɛnsəbəl/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

indispensable (comparative more indispensable, superlative most indispensable)
* (ecclesiastical, obsolete) Not admitting ecclesiastical dispensation; not subject to release or exemption; that cannot be allowed by bending the canonical rules. [16th–17th c.]
* (of duties, rules etc.) Unbendable, that cannot be set aside or ignored. [from 17th c.]
** 1679–1715, Gilbert Burnet, “(please specify the page)”, in The History of the Reformation of the Church of England., London: […] T[homas] H[odgkin] for Richard Chiswell, […]:The law was moral and indispensable.
* 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.
** 7 July 2022, Boris Johnson, resignation speech‎:And my friends in politics, no-one is remotely indispensable and our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times.

#### Synonyms

* See also Thesaurus:requisite

#### Antonyms

* dispensable

#### Derived terms

* indispensability
* indispensable nation
* indispensableness
* indispensably

#### Translations
### Noun

indispensable (plural indispensables)
* A thing that is not dispensable; a necessity. [from 17th c.]
* (in the plural, colloquial, dated) Trousers. [from 19th c.]

## Catalan
### Etymology

From in- +‎ dispensable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [in.dis.pənˈsab.blə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [in.dis.penˈsa.ble]
* Hyphenation: in‧dis‧pen‧sa‧ble

### Adjective

indispensable m or f (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)
* indispensable
    Antonym: dispensable

### Further reading

* “indispensable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “indispensable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

## French
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛ̃.dis.pɑ̃.sabl/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

indispensable (plural indispensables)
* indispensable

### Further reading

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

## Spanish
### Etymology

From in- +‎ dispensable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /indispenˈsable/ [ĩn̪.d̪is.pẽnˈsa.β̞le]
* Rhymes: -able
* Syllabification: in‧dis‧pen‧sa‧ble

### Adjective

indispensable m or f (masculine and feminine plural indispensables)
* indispensable
    Synonym: imprescindible
    Antonym: dispensable

#### Derived terms

* indispensablemente

### Further reading

* “indispensable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10