Tuesday word: Gratuitous
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019
Gratuitous (adjective)
gra·tu·i·tous [gruh-too-i-tuhs, -tyoo-]
adjective
1. given, done, bestowed, or obtained without charge or payment; free; voluntary.
2. being without apparent reason, cause, or justification: a gratuitous insult.
3. Law. given without receiving any return value.
RELATED FORMS
gra·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
gra·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
non·gra·tu·i·tous, adjective
non·gra·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
non·gra·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
un·gra·tu·i·tous, adjective
un·gra·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
un·gra·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
Can be confused: gracious, gratis
RELATED WORDS
spontaneous, unwarranted, baseless, wanton, needless, unjustified, groundless, superfluous, unfounded, unprovoked, complimentary, gratis, unpaid, voluntary, willing, chargeless, costless, assumed, bottomless, indefensible
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
2. unnecessary, superfluous, redundant; causeless, unreasonable, groundless, unprovoked, unjustified.
Origin: 1650-60; < Latin gratuitus free, freely given, spontaneous, derivative of gratus thankful, received with thanks (for formation cf. fortuitous); see -ous
EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR GRATUITOUS
And, in a gratuitous show of homicidal prowess, Moses kills two assassins he meets while wandering in the desert of Sinai.
MEET MOSES THE SWASHBUCKLING ISRAELITE|JAMES ROMM|DECEMBER 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But God forbid a TV series premieres pushing out gratuitous emotion and gratuitous feeling.
‘RED BAND SOCIETY’ IS REALLY FREAKING SAD (AND MAY BE TV’S BEST NEW DRAMA)|KEVIN FALLON|SEPTEMBER 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Israeli soldiers, my age, sat impassively on a bench while babies cried and a man complained about gratuitous humiliation.
GAZA, YOU'RE NO GOOD FOR MY MARRIAGE|JOSH ROBIN|AUGUST 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His story is largely devoid of wanton violence and gratuitous sex.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE WORLD WAS OVER?|WILLIAM O’CONNOR|AUGUST 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was justified violence-going after al Qaeda-and then there was gratuitous violence.
AHMED ABU KHATTALA ARREST SPOILS GOP’S BENGHAZI PARTY|MICHAEL TOMASKY|JUNE 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also prepared for gratuitous distribution a large number of four-page leaflets on the most common farm pests.
WOMAN IN SCIENCE|JOHN AUGUSTINE ZAHM
Never did a periodical receive such an amount of gratuitous advertising.
THE AMERICANIZATION OF EDWARD BOK|EDWARD WILLIAM BOK
The convicts have not broken out; but an epidemic of gratuitous mendacity has done so, it appears.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI, VOL. 99, JULY 5, 1890|VARIOUS
France rejected entirely the principle of gratuitous transit.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATES OF POSTAGE|A. D. SMITH
When coinage is free and gratuitous, these two values are the same.
THE PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS|FRANK A. FETTER
Gratuitous (adjective)
gra·tu·i·tous [gruh-too-i-tuhs, -tyoo-]
adjective
1. given, done, bestowed, or obtained without charge or payment; free; voluntary.
2. being without apparent reason, cause, or justification: a gratuitous insult.
3. Law. given without receiving any return value.
RELATED FORMS
gra·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
gra·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
non·gra·tu·i·tous, adjective
non·gra·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
non·gra·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
un·gra·tu·i·tous, adjective
un·gra·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
un·gra·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
Can be confused: gracious, gratis
RELATED WORDS
spontaneous, unwarranted, baseless, wanton, needless, unjustified, groundless, superfluous, unfounded, unprovoked, complimentary, gratis, unpaid, voluntary, willing, chargeless, costless, assumed, bottomless, indefensible
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
2. unnecessary, superfluous, redundant; causeless, unreasonable, groundless, unprovoked, unjustified.
Origin: 1650-60; < Latin gratuitus free, freely given, spontaneous, derivative of gratus thankful, received with thanks (for formation cf. fortuitous); see -ous
EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR GRATUITOUS
And, in a gratuitous show of homicidal prowess, Moses kills two assassins he meets while wandering in the desert of Sinai.
MEET MOSES THE SWASHBUCKLING ISRAELITE|JAMES ROMM|DECEMBER 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But God forbid a TV series premieres pushing out gratuitous emotion and gratuitous feeling.
‘RED BAND SOCIETY’ IS REALLY FREAKING SAD (AND MAY BE TV’S BEST NEW DRAMA)|KEVIN FALLON|SEPTEMBER 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Israeli soldiers, my age, sat impassively on a bench while babies cried and a man complained about gratuitous humiliation.
GAZA, YOU'RE NO GOOD FOR MY MARRIAGE|JOSH ROBIN|AUGUST 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His story is largely devoid of wanton violence and gratuitous sex.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE WORLD WAS OVER?|WILLIAM O’CONNOR|AUGUST 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was justified violence-going after al Qaeda-and then there was gratuitous violence.
AHMED ABU KHATTALA ARREST SPOILS GOP’S BENGHAZI PARTY|MICHAEL TOMASKY|JUNE 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also prepared for gratuitous distribution a large number of four-page leaflets on the most common farm pests.
WOMAN IN SCIENCE|JOHN AUGUSTINE ZAHM
Never did a periodical receive such an amount of gratuitous advertising.
THE AMERICANIZATION OF EDWARD BOK|EDWARD WILLIAM BOK
The convicts have not broken out; but an epidemic of gratuitous mendacity has done so, it appears.
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI, VOL. 99, JULY 5, 1890|VARIOUS
France rejected entirely the principle of gratuitous transit.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATES OF POSTAGE|A. D. SMITH
When coinage is free and gratuitous, these two values are the same.
THE PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS|FRANK A. FETTER