adjacent

[uh-jey-suhnt]

adjective

1. lying near, close, or contiguous; adjoining; neighboring.

   a motel adjacent to the highway.

   Synonyms: touching
   Antonyms: distant

2. just before, after, or facing.

   a map on an adjacent page.

3. (used in combination)

   1. related or very close to a specified topic, activity, etc..

      While the comment was not outright racist, it was racist-adjacent.

   2. supporting or being an ally of a group or subculture without being a part of it.

      She describes herself as queer-adjacent.

   3. having the traits or interests of a group or subculture without being a part of it.

      Are they full-on geeks or just nerd-adjacent?

adjacent

/ əˈdʒeɪsənt /

adjective

1. being near or close, esp having a common boundary; adjoining; contiguous

2. maths

   1. (of a pair of vertices in a graph) joined by a common edge

   2. (of a pair of edges in a graph) meeting at a common vertex

noun

1. geometry the side lying between a specified angle and a right angle in a right-angled triangle

Other Word Forms

• adjacently adverb
• adjacency noun
• nonadjacent adjective
• nonadjacently adverb
• subadjacent adjective
• subadjacently adverb
• superadjacent adjective
• superadjacently adverb
• unadjacent adjective
• unadjacently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of adjacent¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin adjacent- (stem of adjacēns, present participle of adjacēre “to adjoin”), equivalent to ad- “toward” ( ad- ) + jac- “lie” + -ent- adjective suffix ( -ent )

Word History and Origins

Origin of adjacent¹

C15: from Latin adjacēre to lie next to, from ad- near + jacēre to lie

Synonym Study

See adjoining.

Example Sentences

Fire and ambulance services also attended the "significantly damaged" building, as well as the two adjacent properties.

From BBC

There are a lot of cool restaurants all along Mission Street in Pasadena — that was adjacent to where we lived, and it was easy to bike there.

From Los Angeles Times

There’s a national network of Sikhs working in fields adjacent to trucking as well, from truck-stop Indian restaurants to trucking schools and logistics companies.

From Los Angeles Times

They sprawled around the rim of the backyard swimming pool and across the adjacent lawn, their animal-print blankets and beach towels crowded with paper scraps and glue sticks.

From Los Angeles Times

The search by federal agencies had also shut down construction on an adjacent battery plant, CBS News reports.

From BBC

Related Words

• adjoining 
• bordering www.thesaurus.com
• contiguous 
• neighboring