dispenser
to exempt
verb dee-spahn-SEH Rare
Origin: from Latin 'dispensare', to distribute
Also means
to provide, to give out
Usage Note
Dispenser quelqu'un de quelque chose means to excuse or exempt someone from an obligation. In medical or educational contexts it also means to provide or administer (care, lessons). Se dispenser de is a common reflexive construction meaning 'to spare oneself from' or 'to skip'.
Examples
"Le médecin l'a dispensé de sport pendant un mois."
Natural Translation
The doctor excused him from sport for a month.

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