gratuitous
31
7.7
- adjective
- /ɡrəˈtuːɪtəs/
:
innecesario
- Many viewers found the gratuitous nudity in the show unnecessary and distracting.
- gratuitous violence
- entirely gratuitous
- seemingly gratuitous
It's it was gratuitous and it was unnecessary.
- It's it was gratuitous and it was unnecessary.
- And here he's using a term, it ceases to be gratuitous, right?
- Finally then, the third fact of our universe, which is gratuitous suffering.
- I felt like it was very honest and not gratuitous in any way.
- We should not disrupt them by either gratuitous insults of Beijing or abandonment of Taipei.
- First of all, because I think they're gratuitous.
- They all tended to be sexually violent but in really like gratuitous way.
- Israel fabricated that story and in some respects it was totally gratuitous.
- But I think the lesson that should be learned out of that is that violence should never just be gratuitous.
- I would go to his films with my parents and anytime there was the inevitable gratuitous tit shot, he would my parents would make me put my head down.
- Evil is much more vivid, gratuitous, cruel, all-encompassing.
Examples
-
The violence that's directed at Mimi's character is an essential component to the story... and is, in no sense of the word, gratuitous.
-
His reference to that singular blot on my employment history was gratuitous and not appreciated.
Fiction book (1999) -
Enough of this gratuitous video game violence!
-
In making such remarks in class, he is acting in a way that seems gratuitous.
Academic text (2002) -
Mr. Kelly, don't you feel your gratuitous use of guns on screen is helping to create a more dangerous society?
-
Curse words appeared more frequently, as did gratuitous references to criminal activity.
Academic text (2003) -
Yet pure indulgence, gratuitous pardon, is always at the expense of an innocent party whom it ignores.
Academic text (1994) -
The film was criticized for its gratuitous violence, which added nothing to the story.
-
His gratuitous remarks during the meeting only served to annoy everyone present.
Synonyms
112
3.0
Not needed and avoidable, often causing harm or waste
31
7.0
Not having a good reason or official permission
1
5.1
Not needed and not right in the situation
Antonyms
How Necessary
Surface Forms
Morphology
gratuitous = gratuit (opaque) = gratuit + ous
Although built from a root meaning 'free' or 'given', the modern sense 'unnecessary/uncalled for' reflects a semantic shift and is not predictable from the base for typical learners.
Etymology
Gratuitous comes from an old Latin word meaning 'free' or 'given without payment', and you can see the same root in gratuity, the word for a tip. Because something 'given for free' could also be 'given without cause', gratuitous came to mean 'unnecessary' or 'not needed', which is why a gratuitous insult has no good reason.