Basic Details
Word: Indispensable
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: So necessary that you cannot manage without it.
Synonyms: essential, vital, necessary, crucial
Antonyms: unnecessary, dispensable, inessential
How to Spell Indispensable
Syllables: in - dis - pen - sa - ble
Tricky part: The ending is able, not ible, and the middle is pens with an s. Students also write des for dis.
Watch out for: indispensible, indespensable, indispensabel
Memory tip: Dispense means to give out, as a chemist dispenses medicine. Write dispens, add able, and put in in front: in + dispens + able.
Usage Examples
Example 1: A good dictionary is indispensable when you learn a new language.
Example 2: Our goalkeeper has become indispensable to the school team.
Example 3: Mobile phones seem indispensable now, but your grandparents grew up without them.
Fun Fact
Take away the in and you get its opposite, dispensable, which is a real word too: something dispensable is a thing you can easily do without.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
For long treks in the Himalayas, a good pair of boots is indespensable, and so is a warm jacket for the freezing nights at the high camps.
a) jacket
b) freezing
c) treks
d) indespensable
Show answer
d) indespensable. The second syllable is dis, as in dispense, not des.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to indispensable as used in the sentence:
Her skill with electronics made her indispensable during the science fair.
a) unnecessary
b) crucial
c) essential
d) vital
Show answer
a) unnecessary. If she was indispensable, the team could not do without her; unnecessary means they easily could.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
For a tailor, a sharp pair of scissors is lbspsianednie.
a) insensible
b) inexpensive
c) inseparable
d) indispensable
Show answer
d) indispensable. With a d, a p and two s's in the jumble, only indispensable can be made.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Most fish die quickly out of water. For a fish, water is ____.
a) indispensable
b) decorative
c) harmful
d) optional
Show answer
a) indispensable
2. If a player is indispensable, the coach ____.
a) thinks she is too slow
b) wants to drop her
c) has never seen her play
d) cannot do without her
Show answer
d) cannot do without her
