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👜 A fashion item 🔌 Extra part 🕵️ Crime helper ➕ Extra support
accessory

accessory

4.1
Not necessary but used to give extra support or help
  • adjective
  • /əkˈsɛsəri/
translation icon : accesorio
  • The accessory features in the software provide helpful tools for users, making their experience smoother.

Examples

  • The real conditions of literary work belong to a system of forces and constraints of which the creative mind is only the locus of interaction, a wholly accidental sum of negligible or accessory influence.

    Academic text (1999)

  • She added an accessory to her outfit, enhancing its appeal without changing its main style.

  • The gardener provided accessory support to the main plants, ensuring they thrived in the changing weather.

Synonyms

extra
vsaccessory
∞ 1.0

More than is needed or expected

focuses on added support or help rather than mere surplus amount
auxiliary
vsaccessory
69 6.5

Something that gives extra help or support

is general extra support without implying a backup role
supplemental
vsaccessory
52 5.0

Extra help or money that fills a gap in something

focuses on added support without necessarily filling a specific lack
ancillary
vsaccessory
  • Formal
16 7.3

Giving extra help or support to a main activity

is broader extra help not limited to operational tasks
supplementary
vsaccessory
9 4.7

An extra part that makes something more complete or useful

emphasizes extra nonessential support rather than completion or enhancement
assistive
vsaccessory
4 4.8

Giving help or support to people with disabilities

is broader extra support not limited to aiding particular people
accessorial
vsaccessory
9.5

Extra services or charges added to the main fee

is the neutral general term rather than specialized wording
appurtenant
vsaccessory
  • Formal
9.9

Connected to and used with another thing, like a house

is general supplementary support without implying ownership or right
suppletive
vsaccessory
9.0

Providing extra material or information to add to something

is broader extra help rather than a specific material replacement
appendant
vsaccessory
9.5

Attached to something as a small extra part

describes extra support without requiring physical attachment

Antonyms

essential
50 2.4

Things you need for a purpose, like food or water

Compounds

accessory after the fact
  • Specialized
7 8.4

A person who helps or hides someone after they commit a serious crime

accessory before the fact
  • Specialized
1 8.9

A person who helps plan a crime but is not there when it happens

computer accessory
1 3.1

A device you add to a computer to make it work better or be easier to use

accessory nerve
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A nerve that controls some neck and shoulder muscles

spinal accessory
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A nerve that controls some muscles in the neck and shoulder

accessory fruit
  • Specialized
8.4

A fruit whose flesh comes from flower parts, like an apple or strawberry

accessory hemiazygos vein
  • Specialized
9.8

A left chest vein that carries blood from the upper back between the ribs to the azygos vein

accessory cephalic vein
  • Specialized
7.0

A small vein on the outer side of the forearm that joins a larger vein near the elbow

accessory hemiazygous vein
  • Specialized
9.9

A chest vein that takes blood from upper left rib spaces and drains into the azygos vein

accessory vertebral vein
  • Specialized
9.2

A small neck vein that runs beside the vertebral vein and drains into a large chest vein

auto accessory
3.7

An item added to a car to improve its look, comfort and function

mink accessory
7.9

A fashion item made from mink fur, like a wrap or hat

How Supplementary

ancillary
  • Formal
16 7.3
accessory
4.1
peripheral
27 6.5
incidental
28 6.0

Surface Forms

accessory positive

Morphology

accessory = access (opaque) = access + ory

Although formed from 'access' + '-ory' historically, the adjective meaning 'supplementary' is not predictable from the modern sense of 'access' ('entry' or 'approach').

Etymology

Accessory comes from the same old Latin idea of being 'added' or 'extra', like addition. So when something is accessory it is a supportive extra, not the main or essential part.