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

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

Carpino is responsible for the Angels’ day-to-day operations and his office is adjacent to those of Mead, Taylor and formerly Kay.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In 1971, he moved his family to the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, where his home was adjacent to a runway and he had a hangar to store his planes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The adjacent San Diego Museum of Art is about to embark on its own expansion, replacing Mosher’s west wing with a design by Norman Foster.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Areas adjacent to the camp have been emptied, too.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Group B and C teams will each play three matches against the teams in the adjacent group, so Group B teams will play against Group C teams only, and vice-versa.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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