expendable en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ɪkˈspɛndəbəl/
Etymology
Etymology tree English expend Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English expendable From expend + -able.
Meanings
-
Able to be expended; not inexhaustible.
Oil and other expendable resources are frequently the subject of military disputes.
-
Designed for a single use; not reusable.
The anti-aircraft rocket is fired from an expendable launch platform.
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Not essential or mandatory in order to achieve a goal.
The research department was deemed expendable, and its funding was not renewed.
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Regarded as not worth preserving or saving; able to be sacrificed.
In the internecine rivalries of large corporations, whole departments may become expendable in the execution of one executive's power play.
He was expendable, like commodities past their use.
1997, G. Cajetan Luna, Youths Living with HIV: Self-Evident Truths, page 10:The Taunton-Minehead line (now managed by the West Somerset Railway) was considered much more expendable.
2020 April 8, Howard Johnston, “East-ended? When the ECML was at risk”, in Rail, page 69:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most expendable | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more expendable | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
dispensable (not reusable) · inconsiderable (not worth saving or preserving) · throwaway (not reusable) · redundant (not essential or mandatory) · exhaustible (not inexhaustible) · collateral (not worth saving or preserving) · adjunct (not essential or mandatory) · disposable (not reusable) · superfluous (not essential or mandatory) · dispensable (not essential or mandatory) · sacrificable (not worth saving or preserving) · limited (not inexhaustible) · worthless (not worth saving or preserving) · finite (not inexhaustible)
Translations (54)
el αναλώσιμος (able to be expended) · gd so-chaitheamh (not worth preserving or saving) · ca d'un sol ús (designed for a single use) · ru необяза́тельный (not essential or mandatory) · fi ehtyvä (able to be expended) · fi kertakäyttöinen (designed for a single use) · ru однора́зовый (designed for a single use) · de verzichtbar (not essential or mandatory) · de wegwerf- (designed for a single use) · ru расхо́дуемый (not worth preserving or saving) · ru невозобновля́емый (able to be expended) · de begrenzt vorhanden (able to be expended) · fr jetable (designed for a single use) · ca prescindible (not worth preserving or saving) · cs obětovatelný (not worth preserving or saving) · es prescindible (not essential or mandatory) · de nicht wiederverwertbar (designed for a single use) · de verzichtbar (not worth preserving or saving) · fi kertakäyttö- (designed for a single use) · gd so-chaitheamh (able to be expended) · de erschöpfbar (able to be expended) · fr sacrifiable (not worth preserving or saving) · es expendible (not essential or mandatory) · de aufgebbar (not worth preserving or saving) · de einweg- (designed for a single use) · fr consommable (able to be expended) · fi uhrattavissa oleva (not worth preserving or saving) · gd so-chaitheamh (not essential or mandatory) · fi rajallinen (able to be expended) · fi epäolennainen (not essential or mandatory) · ca prescindible (not essential or mandatory) · ru расхо́дный (not worth preserving or saving) · de entbehrlich (not essential or mandatory) · gv yn-cheau (able to be expended) · bg маловажен (not essential or mandatory) · gv yn-vaarail (able to be expended) · pt descartável (designed for a single use) · pt esgotável (able to be expended) · fi arvoton (not worth preserving or saving) · es fungible (designed for a single use) · pt sacrificável (not worth preserving or saving) · es agotable (able to be expended) · fr facultatif (not essential or mandatory) · ca sacrificable (not worth preserving or saving) · de erschöpflich (able to be expended) · es sacrificable (not worth preserving or saving) · de endlich (able to be expended) · gd so-chaitheamh (designed for a single use) · bg потребляем (able to be expended) · bg за еднократна употреба (designed for a single use) · es defectible (not essential or mandatory) · cs postradatelný (not essential or mandatory) · es desechable (designed for a single use) · de überflüssig (not essential or mandatory)