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extraneous

[ik-strey-nee-uh s]
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adjective
  1. introduced or coming from without; not belonging or proper to a thing; external; foreign: extraneous substances in our water.
  2. not pertinent; irrelevant: an extraneous remark; extraneous decoration.
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Origin of extraneous

1630–40; < Latin extrāneus external, foreign, equivalent to extr(a)- extra- + -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous
Related formsex·tra·ne·ous·ly, adverbex·tra·ne·ous·ness, nounnon·ex·tra·ne·ous, adjectivenon·ex·tra·ne·ous·ly, adverbnon·ex·tra·ne·ous·ness, nounun·ex·tra·ne·ous, adjectiveun·ex·tra·ne·ous·ly, adverb
Can be confusedextraneous external extrinsic internal intrinsic

Synonyms

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1. extrinsic, adventitious, alien. 2. inappropriate, nonessential, superfluous.

Antonyms

1. intrinsic. 2. pertinent, relevant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for extraneously

Historical Examples

  • Hypothetically considered, the situation was not extraneously alarming.

    The Shriek

    Charles Somerville

British Dictionary definitions for extraneously

extraneous

adjective
  1. not essential
  2. not pertinent or applicable; irrelevant
  3. coming from without; of external origin
  4. not belonging; unrelated to that to which it is added or in which it is contained
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Derived Formsextraneously, adverbextraneousness, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin extrāneus external, from extrā outside
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for extraneously

extraneous

adj.

1630s, from Latin extraneus "external, strange," from extra "outside of" (see extra-).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper