to dispense with
- phrasal verb
- /dɪˈspɛns wɪð/
- We shall therefore dispense with unnecessary formalities.
- dispense with the notion
- dispense with traditional
- dispense with the word
A lot of musical innovation comes about by dispensing with the rules, the principles.
- A lot of musical innovation comes about by dispensing with the rules, the principles.
- Isn't it only modern Stoics who some of them want to dispense with this this aspect?
- It's like, yeah, OK, dispense with that.
- Like what do most people misbelieve about fat loss and how it works that you would like to try and dispense with?
- So let's dispense with the suspense and let's look at what's the biggest part of this pie chart.
- Because what if we just decide that to dispense with the concept of truth?
- He says instead that it the the guilt or the demerit of the criminal does not dispense with the obligation of good, the goodwill.
- But you know, not everyone's on Twitter so well, I mean, I think we should one thing we should dispense with before we get into the Adam check in.
- And if we're our masters of our own destiny and owners of our own fate, then why can't we just command to ourselves that that be dispensed with?
Examples
-
So let's dispense with the suspense and let's look at what's the biggest part of this pie chart.
-
Look, Detective, let's dispense with the formalities.
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Can we dispense with all that, please?
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We can dispense with the fun and games now.
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Let's dispense with reading of the minutes, since we do not have it.
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Since military courtesy is not practical here, we'll dispense with it.
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Is this something that firms can dispense with altogether and still be great?
Academic text (1994) -
The situation grows critical, and time is short, so we will dispense with formalities.
Fiction book (1992) -
You can dispense with the pleasantries, Desmond.
-
We should dispense with the extra steps to streamline the process.
Synonyms
To move something or someone away from a place
To remove or throw away something you do not want
Remove or kill something completely so it is gone
To hand a job or control you have to someone else
To throw something away because you no longer want or need it
Choose not to use a right or to charge a fee
Remove something so it is no longer used
To stop something that is happening or being given
Deal with and finish a problem or task so it no longer causes trouble
To stop using something slowly over time
Decide not to have or do something you want
Take something out of use when it is no longer needed
To choose not to have or do something
End something completely, for example a custom or a debt
To reject or get rid of something no longer needed
Antonyms
How Complete
Surface Forms
Morphology
dispense + with
The MWE's meaning ('stop using, manage without') is related to the constituent verb 'dispense' in its sense 'omit/exempt' plus the preposition 'with', so a learner who knows those senses can partly derive the meaning. However, 'dispense' also has a different common sense ('distribute') and the construction is somewhat formal and lexically specific, so the exact sense may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Dispense with comes from an old use of dispense meaning 'to give out' or 'to free someone from a rule'. Imagine a person in charge who gives permission to skip a rule; they 'dispense' that permission, so to dispense with something came to mean 'to stop using it' or 'to manage without it'.