Definition of "dispensation" []

• The act of dispensing. (noun)
• Something dispensed. (noun)
• A specific arrangement or system by which something is dispensed. (noun)
• An exemption or release from an obligation or rule, granted by or as if by an authority. (noun)
• An exemption from a church law, a vow, or another similar obligation granted in a particular case by an ecclesiastical authority. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Her marriage, crafted with diplomatic panache and a dispensation from the pope, had a rocky start, but soon the couple fell in love."
• "The following day, Deb got special dispensation from the principal and took Gunner to school with her."
• "Blacks actually believed they would get some special dispensation from a black president."