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
  • Whether these stories are fictional or heightened for comic effect is irrelevant; Simmons-Patterson’s conversational delivery and sly smile are so magnetic that audiences want to spend time in his universe either way.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The result of the game, a 37-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, was irrelevant.
    Tashan Reed, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The crowd becomes an external regulator of internal preference.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The polygamist community in Short Creek faced many pressures, both external and internal.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • There are multiple hours of fundamentally extraneous footage.
    Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Next, do away with geography and other extraneous details by redrawing your map as what’s known as a planar graph.
    Gregory Barber, Quanta Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • It’s ruled an accidental death, but Neagley feels something is off.
    Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Officials said the cause of the fire appeared to be accidental, but remained under investigation early Monday.
    Dylan Olsen, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Luckily, missions to pre-warp alien cultures often provide an excuse to experiment with planet-appropriate clothing, while travelling through time offers an opportunity to try out some fashions from the(ir) past.
    Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Maybe your house will be alien and UFO themed with a landing pad in the yard.
    Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Creating the pipeline Although skilled chip workers are concentrated overseas, bringing over foreign talent on H-1B visas has become a costly and cumbersome process.
    Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026
  • In Thursday’s ruling, the FCC found that the public interest supports permitting Paramount’s foreign equity ownership to exceed the typical benchmark for such a deal.
    Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Adventitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adventitious. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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