extraneous

[ ik-strey-nee-uhs ]
/ ɪkˈstreɪ ni əs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR extraneous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

introduced or coming from without; not belonging or proper to a thing; external; foreign: extraneous substances in our water.
not pertinent; irrelevant: an extraneous remark; extraneous decoration.

Origin of extraneous

1630–40; < Latin extrāneus external, foreign, equivalent to extr(a)- extra- + -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous

OTHER WORDS FROM extraneous

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH extraneous

extraneous external extrinsic internal intrinsic

Words nearby extraneous

extrality, extramarital, extrametrical, extramundane, extramural, extraneous, extranet, extranuclear, extraocular muscle, extraordinaire, extraordinary

Words related to extraneously

outwardly, apparently, carelessly, casually, hastily, ostensibly, partially, skim, externally, frivolously, ignorantly

Example sentences from the Web for extraneously

  • Hypothetically considered, the situation was not extraneously alarming.

    The Shriek |Charles Somerville

British Dictionary definitions for extraneously

extraneous
/ (ɪkˈstreɪnɪəs) /

adjective

not essential
not pertinent or applicable; irrelevant
coming from without; of external origin
not belonging; unrelated to that to which it is added or in which it is contained

Derived forms of extraneous

extraneously, adverb extraneousness, noun

Word Origin for extraneous

C17: from Latin extrāneus external, from extrā outside