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Definition of: dispensation
(dis′pən·sā′shən) noun
1. The act of dispensing; a dealing out; distribution.
2. That which is bestowed on or appointed to one from a higher power.
3. The divine arrangement and administration of the affairs of the world: the dispensation of Providence.
4. A specific plan: a special dispensation of nature.
5. Special exemption granted from the requirements of a law, rule, or obligation; specifically, in the Roman Catholic Church, exemption by express ecclesiastical authority from an obligation incurred at the free will of the individual. Compare INDULGENCE.
6. Theol. One of the several systems or bodies of law in which at different times God has revealed his mind and will to man, or the continued state of things resulting from the operation of one of these systems: the Mosaic dispensation; also, the period during which a particular revelation of God's mind and will has been directly operative on mankind: during the Christian dispensation. [<OF <L dispensatio, -onis <dispensare. See DISPENSE.]
—dis′pen·sa′tion·al adjective