Definition of adventitiousnext
as in extrinsic
not being a vital part of or belonging to something the point of view that art should be for art's sake and that moral considerations are adventitious to the study of art

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of adventitious Although individual plants have a lifespan of 30-90 years, adventitious shoots grow up from roots. Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 5 July 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adventitious
Adjective
  • Educational psychology provides a useful framework for understanding this phenomenon through the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
    Jason Benedict, Fortune, 7 July 2026
  • Extrinsic rewards, such as grades, do so because extrinsic desires tend to crowd out intrinsic ones.
    David Brooks, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
Adjective
  • Publishers don’t want irrelevant or misleading ads to appear on their media sources.
    Roman Vrublivskyi, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026
  • And for now, some inside and around the White House seem to view the plan’s opponents as irrelevant establishment voices.
    Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Database lookup triggers Agent C, which calls out to an external API and writes results to cloud storage.
    Nicola Sfondrini, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • This is where the internal discontent bleeds into external conversation, and, thus, dings reputation at a material cost to the business.
    Stacey Zolt Hara, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Howard said there was a large volume of character, reputation, and extraneous information related to the Metcalfs.
    CBS Texas Staff, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Judges should consider voluntary surrender for low-risk individuals who have demonstrated compliance, ensuring punishment aligns with the court's order without adding extraneous suffering.
    Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • For this reason, users are becoming more anxious about protecting their smartphones from accidental drops.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Brussels must recognize this strength and treat the durability of its institutional framework as a deliberate asset rather than an accidental feature.
    JONAS NAHM, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • At the Science Museum in London, fans hope to set a Guinness World Record for the most people performing the Vulcan Salute — a greeting made famous by Star Trek's beloved half-human, half-alien character Spock.
    Mandalit del Barco, NPR, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Each illustration features something with a motor or an alien creature that qualifies as transport.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • In a comment underneath a Facebook post from 2025, Headen called for foreign attacks on states with a large conservative population.
    David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Terrorism wasn’t a completely foreign concept, but the notion of a hostile, coordinated attack on our soil, at that scale, seemed like something that might only happen in a Tom Clancy novel or a summer blockbuster movie.
    Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Adventitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adventitious. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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