parenthetical

adjective

par·​en·​thet·​i·​cal ˌper-ən-ˈthe-ti-kəl 

ˌpa-rən-

variants or less commonly parenthetic

ˌper-ən-ˈthe-tik 

ˌpa-rən-

1

a

: of, relating to, or expressed in a parenthesis

a parenthetical remark/comment/note

One sentence runs on for nearly two pages; other sentences meander through the potholes of so many parenthetical expressions as to make it nearly impossible to follow the trail of the argument …

—James Q. Wilson

In a construction of this sort, the phrase "the coach said" should be regarded as a parenthetical insert and should be implicitly thought of as flanked by commas.

—Samuel R. Levin

… his travel diaries were notable for their erratic punctuation, parenthetic embellishments and an extraordinary way with adjectives.

—William Dalrymple

b

: enclosed in parentheses

a foreign word followed by a parenthetical translation

The recuperating Yankees have a parenthetical medical problem that is now part of each player's name: Hernández (elbow), Pettitte (elbow), Rivera (ankle), Mendoza (shoulder), O'Neill (foot), Justice (groin), Jeter (hamstring), Knoblauch (elbow). Put them together and it spells Yankees (problems).

—Dave Anderson

2

: containing parentheses : using or given to using parentheses

a parenthetical style

parenthetically

ˌper-ən-ˈthe-ti-k(ə-)lē 

ˌpa-rən-

adverb

"They are a good nucleus of ideas for me," she says, adding, almost parenthetically, "Of course you have to know a lot about medicine to understand them."

—Publishers Weekly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

At other moments, Acker stresses discontinuity: a murderess’s hallucination is interrupted, mid-sentence, by a parenthetical reflection on a humiliating affair. —Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2022

That single sentence, more or less a parenthetical clearing of the throat, made an impression on Reavis and his wife and business partner, Jennifer Meltzer. —Washington Post, 3 May 2021

The opponent, the New York Rangers, and the outcome, to be determined, are almost parenthetical. —Phil Thompson, Chicago Tribune, 18 Dec. 2022

Many accounts of the atomization and losses of contemporary pregnancy ritualistically offer parenthetical acknowledgment of one’s own privileged position, and the rhetorical aside of wonder how those with less privilege can possibly manage. —Laura Tanenbaum, The New Republic, 17 Aug. 2022

Ok, that parenthetical might not be true, but come on, a legend like that arising out of that game isn’t totally unfeasible. —Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 6 July 2022

The Thai cabinet — headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former military chief and leader of the 2014 coup — approved the Royal Society’s ruling with its own decree, making a parenthetical Bangkok the law of the land. —New York Times, 2 Apr. 2022

A lot of editors, and others, would not like those two parenthetical phrases in a row. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 7 Oct. 2020

The parenthetical seems intended to drive home his point: Those uncorrupted by politics do the work. —Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2020

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Word History

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined at sense 1a