gratuitous
[gruh-too-i-tuh s, -tyoo-]
- given, done, bestowed, or obtained without charge or payment; free; voluntary.
- being without apparent reason, cause, or justification: a gratuitous insult.
- Law. given without receiving any return value.
Origin of gratuitous
1650–60; < Latin grātuītus free, freely given, spontaneous, derivative of grātus thankful, received with thanks (for formation cf. fortuitous); see -ous
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com2. unnecessary, superfluous, redundant; causeless, unreasonable, groundless, unprovoked, unjustified.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gratuitously
Contemporary Examples
Then there is his infuriating penchant for gratuitously offering compromises before a policy debate has even begun.
Historical Examples
They were not going to stop in the hall to be grossly and gratuitously insulted!
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)William Delisle Hay
He had been gratuitously insulted in the midst of his new dignities.
IT and Other StoriesGouverneur Morris
He now changed his tactics, and resolved to board and lodge with her gratuitously.
Philosopher JackR.M. Ballantyne
But they were not gratuitously gone into, on the part of England; far from that.
It was a willing service and gratuitously performed, for the good of men.
Epistle Sermons, Vol. IIMartin Luther
gratuitous
- given or received without payment or obligation
- without cause; unjustified
- law given or made without receiving any value in returna gratuitous agreement
Word Origin
C17: from Latin grātuītus, from grātia favour
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gratuitously
adv.
1690s, from gratuitous + -ly (2).
gratuitous
adj.
1650s, "freely bestowed," from Latin gratuitus "done without pay, spontaneous, voluntary," from gratus "pleasing, agreeable," from gratia "favor" (see grace). Sense of "uncalled for, done without good reason" is first recorded 1690s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper