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Dispensable vs Unnecessary - What's the difference?

dispensable | unnecessary |

As adjectives the difference between dispensable and unnecessary

is that dispensable is able to be done without; able to be expended; easily replaced while unnecessary is not needed or necessary.

dispensable

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Able to be done without; able to be expended; easily replaced.
  • Capable of being dispensed; distributable.
  • * 2006 , Pamela Lewis, Achieving Best Behavior for Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Step-by-Step Workbook for Parents and Carers , Jessica Kingsley Publsihers (2006), ISBN 9781843108092, page 132:
  • The reward could be a preferred food, a sticker, blowing some bubbles, a noisemaker the child enjoys, a pat on the back, or some other easily dispensable reward that does not take the child away from the task at hand for more than a moment or two.
  • Subject to dispensation; possible to relax, exempt from, or annul.
  • * 2011 , Will Adam, Legal Flexibility and the Mission of the Church: Dispensation and Economy in Ecclesiastical Law , ISBN 9781409420552, page 15:
  • Jones' use of the term 'Ecclesiastical Law' in his definition of dispensations in Roman Catholic canon law points to the Roman Catholic distinction between divine law, from which no dispensation is possible, and merely ecclesiastical law, which is dispensable in certain circumstances.
  • (biochemistry, nutrition, of an amino acid) Not essential to be taken in as part of an organism's diet, as it can be synthesized de novo.
  • * 2008 , Marie Dunford & J. Andrew Doyle, Nutrition for Sport and Exercise , Thomson Wadsworth (2008), ISBN 9780495014836, page 161:
  • The difference in absorption rate is not surprising since whey has a high percentage of indispensable amino acids, which are absorbed more rapidly than dispensable amino acids.

    Antonyms

    * indispensable

    unnecessary

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Not needed or necessary.
  • The automatic child-frightener made clowns unnecessary .
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=December 14 , author=Steven Morris , title=Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave , work=Guardian citation , page= , passage=Robins, of Torquay, had denied a single charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She claimed the microwave was accidentally turned on by one of the cats after the kitten got inside. But Knutton said the kitten was too small to even get onto the work surface.}}
  • Done in addition to requirements; unrequired.
  • Antonyms

    * (not needed) necessary, needed * (in addition to requirements) required, mandatory

    Synonyms

    * (not needed) superfluous, unneeded, needless, innecessary * (in addition to requirements) additional, innecessary

    Derived terms

    * unnecessarily * unnecessariness