expendable
Not worth keeping
Expendable describes something or someone considered acceptable to sacrifice or use up for a larger goal.
Supplies are expendable when they're meant to be consumed.
More starkly, soldiers or workers are called expendable when those in charge view their loss as tolerable: In war, infantry are often treated as expendable.
The word carries a cold, utilitarian edge.
Not essential or required
- superfluousExceeding what suffices
- dispensableAble to be sacrificed
- optionalNot mandatory
- redundantExceeding what's needed
unneeded · inessential · peripheral · ancillary · secondary · trivial · minor · incidental
Designed for discard
- single-useFor one application only
- discardableAble to be thrown out
- replaceableAble to be exchanged
- dispensableAble to be sacrificed
consumable · temporary · short-lived · perishable · transient · fleeting · ephemeral · biodegradable
Troops viewed as disposable
- pawnUnwitting tool of another
- scapegoatUnfairly blamed person
- martyrVictim for beliefs
- redshirtAthlete held back a year
fall-guy · decoy · lamb · offering · victim · frontline · proxy · patsy
Able to replace another
- substitutableCapable of being exchanged
- fungibleReplaceable by equivalent items
- swappableAble to be exchanged
- exchangeableAble to be traded
alternate · backup · stand-in · proxy · surrogate · equivalent · comparable · generic
Surplus beyond need
- overflowExceed capacity and spill
- spareHeld in reserve
- leftoverFood saved after meals
- unusedNever put to purpose
reserve · stockpile · buffer · backup · extra · overage · redundancy · cushion
Weapon projectiles and charges
- fuelEnergy source material
- suppliesResources for a task
- provisionsStockpiled food and supplies
- rationsControlled food portions
cartridges · munitions · ordnance · materiel · propellant · rounds · shells · magazines
unnecessary
Not essential or required
- superfluousExceeding what suffices
- dispensableAble to be sacrificed
- optionalNot mandatory
redundant · unneeded · inessential · peripheral · ancillary · secondary · trivial · minor · incidental · extraneous
throwaway
Designed for discard
- single-useFor one application only
- discardableAble to be thrown out
- replaceableAble to be exchanged
dispensable · consumable · temporary · short-lived · perishable · transient · fleeting · ephemeral · biodegradable · recyclable
cannon-fodder
Troops viewed as disposable
redshirt · fall-guy · decoy · lamb · offering · victim · frontline · proxy · patsy · stooge
interchangeable
Able to replace another
- substitutableCapable of being exchanged
- fungibleReplaceable by equivalent items
- swappableAble to be exchanged
exchangeable · alternate · backup · stand-in · proxy · surrogate · equivalent · comparable · generic · modular
excess
Surplus beyond need
unused · reserve · stockpile · buffer · backup · extra · overage · redundancy · cushion · contingency
ammunition
Weapon projectiles and charges
- fuelEnergy source material
- suppliesResources for a task
- provisionsStockpiled food and supplies
rations · cartridges · munitions · ordnance · materiel · propellant · rounds · shells · magazines · charges
- nonessentialunnecessary, unneeded, nonessential, inessential, dispensable
- qualitiesgood, bad, better, best, useful
- expendabledisposable, replaceable, dispensable, redundant, unnecessary
expendableirreplaceable
Having no adequate substitute
unique · one-of-a-kind · incomparable · matchless · singular
- The ExpendablesThose deemed replaceable