gratuitous
UK /ɡɹəˈtjuː.ɪt.əs/ · US /ɡɹəˈtu.ɪt.əs/ adjective
- adjective Given freely; unearned.
- adjective Unjustified or unnecessary; not called for by the circumstances. “gratuitous violence”
- adjective (in linguistic criticism) extraneous, interpolated.
Synonyms
uncalled-for free gratis unjustified groundless baseless unfounded unnecessary complimentary costless needless
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin grātuītus (“free”), from Latin grātia (“favor”), grātus (“showing favor”).
Webster’s 1913
- Given without an equivalent or recompense; conferred without valuable consideration; granted without pay, or without claim or merit; not required by justice.
- Not called for by the circumstances; without reason, cause, or proof; adopted or asserted without any good ground; as, a gratuitous assumption.
Etymology [L. gratuitus, from gratus pleasing. See Grate, a., Gratis.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gratuitous”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details