adventitious

adjective

ad·​ven·​ti·​tious ˌad-(ˌ)ven-ˈti-shəs 

-vən-

1

: coming from another source and not inherent or innate

a Federal house without adventitious later additions

adventitious influences

2

: arising or occurring sporadically or in other than the usual location

adventitious roots

adventitiously adverb

Did you know?

Adventitious comes from Latin adventīcius, meaning "coming from outside," which, in turn, is from advenīre, "to arrive." The verb is the source of other English words, including advent, adventure, and avenue.

Synonyms

• accidental
• alien
• external
• extraneous
• extrinsic
• foreign
• supervenient

Examples of adventitious in a Sentence

the point of view that art should be for art's sake and that moral considerations are adventitious to the study of art

Recent Examples on the Web

Lauren Heller Since Sagittarians are willing to try anything once, the Fire sign resembles Lauren's adventitious persona. —Lisa Stardust, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The patchy and adventitious quality of Jameson’s reconstruction must make clear his difference as a thinker. —Mark Greif, Harper's Magazine, 26 July 2024

The cut appears to have been high enough that the stump should still have enough adventitious buds to regrow. —Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2023

Plant Deep — Really Deep Tomatoes have the ability to produce roots off their stems, known as adventitious roots. —Margaret Roach, New York Times, 12 May 2020

This can also occur when trees are planted too deep, as adventitious (growing sideways from the stem) roots grow against the stem and squeeze the sapwood. —Rebecca Jepsen, The Mercury News, 28 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin adventīcius "coming from outside, external, foreign," from adventus, past participle of advenīre "to arrive, approach" + -īcius -itious — more at advent

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for adventitious

• supposititious
• ambitious
• auspicious
• capricious
• delicious
• factitious
• fictitious
• flagitious
• judicious
• malicious
• nutritious
• officious

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Kids Definition

adventitious

adjective

ad·​ven·​ti·​tious ˌad-(ˌ)ven-ˈtish-əs 

-vən-

1

: coming from an outside source and not an essential part : accidental

2

: appearing in other than the usual or normal place

adventitious roots

adventitiously adverb

Medical Definition

adventitious

adjective

ad·​ven·​ti·​tious -əs 

1

a

: arising sporadically or in other than the usual location

an adventitious part in embryonic development

b

: occurring spontaneously or accidentally in a country or region to which it is not native

an adventitious insect

2

: adventitial

3

: not congenital

adventitious deafness

adventitiously adverb