dispensation
noun/ˌdɪspenˈseɪʃn/
/ˌdɪspenˈseɪʃn/
- [countable, uncountable] special permission to do something that is not usually allowed or legal
- She needed a special dispensation to remarry.
- The sport's ruling body gave him dispensation to compete in national competitions.
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- [uncountable] (formal) the act or process of providing something, especially by somebody in authority
- the dispensation of justice
- [countable] (specialist) a political or religious system that operates in a country at a particular time
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin dispensatio(n-), from the verb dispensare ‘continue to weigh out or disburse’, from the verb dispendere, based on pendere ‘weigh’.
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dispensation