nonessentiality
State of superfluousness
Nonessentiality is the quality of not being essential—the state of being unnecessary or dispensable.
The term often appears in discussions of what can be cut or eliminated: The budget committee debated the nonessentiality of various programs.
During crises, arguments about the nonessentiality of certain workers or services become politically charged.
Able to be sacrificed
- expendableAble to be sacrificed
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
- optionalNot mandatory
- unneededNot required at all
replaceable · surplus · excess · redundant · superfluous · gratuitous · unwarranted · overabundant
Lacking significance or weight
- insignificantLacking importance or consequence
- negligibleToo small to consider
- minorScale with lowered third
- triflingOf no real importance
inconsequential · petty · piddling · picayune · slight · small · paltry · frivolous
External computer add-on
- marginalBarely adequate
- ancillaryProviding additional support
- supplementaryServing to complete
- auxiliaryGiving additional support
secondary · tangential · incidental · collateral · subsidiary · fringe · outlying · borderline
Expensive nonessential comfort
- accessorySupplementary addition
- add-onOptional supplementary component
- ornamentalFor beauty, not function
- decorativeServing to beautify
embellishment · frill · extra · amenity · indulgence · extravagance · nicety · refinement
dispensable
Able to be sacrificed
- expendableAble to be sacrificed
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
- optionalNot mandatory
unneeded · replaceable · surplus · excess · redundant · superfluous · gratuitous · unwarranted · overabundant · spare
trivial
Lacking significance or weight
- insignificantLacking importance or consequence
- negligibleToo small to consider
- minorScale with lowered third
trifling · inconsequential · petty · piddling · picayune · slight · small · paltry · frivolous · fiddling
peripheral
External computer add-on
- marginalBarely adequate
- ancillaryProviding additional support
- supplementaryServing to complete
auxiliary · secondary · tangential · incidental · collateral · subsidiary · fringe · outlying · borderline · adjunct
luxury
Expensive nonessential comfort
- accessorySupplementary addition
- add-onOptional supplementary component
- ornamentalFor beauty, not function
decorative · embellishment · frill · extra · amenity · indulgence · extravagance · nicety · refinement · flourish
nonessentialityessentiality
Quality of being necessary
indispensability · necessity · essentialness · criticality · importance
essential, essence, existential, nonessential, quintessence, inessential, quintessential, existentialism, unessential