/ dɪˈspensəbl; NAmE / adjective
[ not usually before noun ] not necessary; that can be got rid of :
They looked on music and art lessons as dispensable.
OPP essential , indispensable
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WORD ORIGIN
early 16th cent. (in the sense acceptable in special circumstances ): from medieval Latin dispensabilis , from Latin dispensare continue to weigh out or disburse, from the verb dispendere , based on pendere weigh.