gratuitously

[gruh-too-i-tuhs-lee, -tyoo-]

adverb

1. without apparent reason, cause, or justification.

   The chase scene seems gratuitously thrown in for the sake of an action sequence.

2. without charge or payment; freely or voluntarily.

   Love is a spontaneous gift that cannot be earned—it is gratuitously given.

3. Law.,  without receiving any return value.

   The plaintiff must show that they will be forced to either hire someone to perform such household services or have someone perform them gratuitously.

Other Word Forms

• nongratuitously adverb
• ungratuitously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of gratuitously¹

gratuitous ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

“Not in the sense that you would ever vary a ruling, but in the sense that you don’t want to gratuitously offend.”

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“We always made it clear that this wasn’t a drug story. It’s not about his addiction. It’s about so much more than gratuitously seeing someone shoot up.”

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All well and good, until the conservative-leaning Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union representing rank-and-file officers, saw fit to issue a gratuitously snarky statement condemning the hasty arrangement.

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Turns out the impetuous billionaire had gratuitously insulted Kelly after the senator had posted a long thread on X about his recent trip to Ukraine.

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Yet her chronic issue is that she complains gratuitously, stacking her gripes into a wall so that even the people who want to help — a doctor, a dentist — give up.

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