expendability
Quality of replaceability
Expendability is the quality of being disposable or replaceable without significant loss.
The term often carries grim implications when applied to people—soldiers sent on suicide missions, workers laid off without hesitation, characters killed to advance a plot.
The expendability of junior employees became clear during layoffs.
Something with high expendability can be sacrificed for a larger goal.
Amount exceeding requirement
- superfluousExceeding what suffices
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
- nonessentialNot required or needed
- dispensableAble to be sacrificed
extraneous · redundant · excess · optional · peripheral · ancillary · incidental · marginal
Designed for discard
- single-useFor one application only
- disposableMade for one use
- discardableAble to be thrown out
- replaceableAble to be exchanged
temporary · ephemeral · transient · fleeting · nonreusable · perishable · short-lived · impermanent
Able to replace another
- substitutableCapable of being exchanged
- fungibleReplaceable by equivalent items
- replaceableAble to be exchanged
- swappableAble to be exchanged
equivalent · exchangeable · stand-in · backup · spare · duplicate · surrogate · proxy
Security for debt
- cannon-fodderTroops viewed as disposable
- pawnUnwitting tool of another
- martyrVictim for beliefs
- scapegoatUnfairly blamed person
fall-guy · casualty · decoy · bait · frontline · fodder · red-shirt · sacrificial
Mass job eliminations
- downsizingReducing workforce or scale
- redundancyNeedless duplication
- terminationAct of ending something
- outsourcingThird-party task delegation
attrition · severance · retrenchment · furlough · cutbacks · headcount · restructuring · dismissal
surplus
Amount exceeding requirement
- superfluousExceeding what suffices
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
- nonessentialNot required or needed
dispensable · extraneous · redundant · excess · optional · peripheral · ancillary · incidental · marginal · gratuitous
throwaway
Designed for discard
- single-useFor one application only
- disposableMade for one use
- discardableAble to be thrown out
replaceable · temporary · ephemeral · transient · fleeting · nonreusable · perishable · short-lived · impermanent · consumable
interchangeable
Able to replace another
- substitutableCapable of being exchanged
- fungibleReplaceable by equivalent items
- replaceableAble to be exchanged
swappable · equivalent · exchangeable · stand-in · backup · spare · duplicate · surrogate · proxy · successor
collateral
Security for debt
- cannon-fodderTroops viewed as disposable
- pawnUnwitting tool of another
- martyrVictim for beliefs
scapegoat · fall-guy · casualty · decoy · bait · frontline · fodder · red-shirt · sacrificial · mission-critical
layoffs
Mass job eliminations
- downsizingReducing workforce or scale
- redundancyNeedless duplication
- terminationAct of ending something
outsourcing · attrition · severance · retrenchment · furlough · cutbacks · headcount · restructuring · dismissal · contractor
expendabilityindispensability
Being absolutely necessary
irreplaceability · essentiality · necessity · criticalness · criticality
expendabilitypreciousness
Quality of being treasured
importance · significance · pricelessness · worth · value
expendabilitypermanence
Quality of lasting indefinitely
durability · inalienability · retainability · sustainability · preservability
expensive, expense, expenses, expend, inexpensive, expenditure, expendable, expended, expensively