First Known Use: 1638
Dictionary
extraneous
adjective ex·tra·ne·ous \ek-ˈstrā-nē-əs\
: not forming a necessary part of something : not important
Full Definition of EXTRANEOUS
1
: existing on or coming from the outside <extraneous light>
2
3
: being a number obtained in solving an equation that is not a solution of the equation <extraneous roots>
— ex·tra·ne·ous·ly adverb
— ex·tra·ne·ous·ness noun
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Examples of EXTRANEOUS
- Obviously, some degree of packaging is necessary to transport and protect the products we need, but all too often manufacturers add extraneous wrappers over wrappers and layers of unnecessary plastic. —Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, 2006
- Industry sages argue that lump charcoal is poised for a back-to-the-future resurgence. They say that a new generation of consumers—aware that most briquettes are shot through with all manner of extraneous materials, from fillers of pulverized limestone to binders of sugarcane bagasse and ignition catalysts of sodium nitrate—are willing to pay the two-buck-a-bag premium for true lump, which, compared to traditional briquettes, lights quicker, burns hotter, and throws off no chemical residue. —John T. Edge, Gourmet, June 2003
- The summer concert season is at hand, which means lots of warm nights wishing the guy in the row behind you would bogart that joint instead of blowing smoke into your hair, and lots of days spent wondering just how many extraneous … charges one ticket can possibly have added on. —Entertainment Weekly, 18 May 2001
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Origin of EXTRANEOUS
Latin extraneus — more at strange
Related to EXTRANEOUS
- Synonyms
- accidental, adventitious, alien, extrinsic, external, foreign, supervenient
Synonym Discussion of EXTRANEOUS
extrinsic, extraneous, foreign, alien mean external to a thing, its essential nature, or its original character. extrinsic applies to what is distinctly outside the thing in question or is not contained in or derived from its essential nature <sentimental value that is extrinsic to the house's market value>. extraneous applies to what is on or comes from the outside and may or may not be capable of becoming an essential part <arguments extraneous to the issue>. foreign applies to what is so different as to be rejected or repelled or to be incapable of becoming assimilated <techniques foreign to French cuisine>. alien is stronger than foreign in suggesting opposition, repugnance, or irreconcilability <a practice totally alien to her nature>.
Rhymes with EXTRANEOUS
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