Able to be used up or spent, or not important enough to be worth saving or protecting.
From 'expend' (from Latin 'expendere,' to weigh out or pay) plus the suffix '-able.' Developed in military contexts in the 20th century to refer to supplies or personnel that could be sacrificed.
The term 'expendable' reveals uncomfortable military logic—during WWII, soldiers were literally classified by how 'expendable' they were, and today it's still used to describe single-use plastics or short-term workers. It shows how language can normalize treating things or people as disposable.
Historically applied to women in warfare and labor (viewed as replaceable reproductive units); also reflects dehumanizing class logic.
Avoid dehumanizing language; if discussing resource allocation, use 'non-essential' or 'lower-priority'.
["replaceable","non-essential","lower-priority"]
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