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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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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adventitious
Adjective
-
Anyone that wanted to reserve time in the July 19 final was beholden to a full-tourney pledge of as much as $30 million, although your mileage will vary based on any number of extrinsic variables.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
17 Apr. 2026
-
That authorization was broad and encompassed Gastineau’s name and likeness as reflected in extrinsic footage, such as that of the encounter with Favre.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
If there’s a business model committed to preserving editorial quality and value, resources to invest in growth, and operators who actually know how to run media properties, the ownership structure is irrelevant.—
Jonathan Hunt,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Whatever entropy pre-existed in the Universe during inflation, or prior to it, is rendered wholly irrelevant.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The change in coma chemistry observed by the team implies that the internal chemistry of 3I/ATLAS differs from its external chemistry.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Implicit in that oath is to defend the country from foes, whether external or internal.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In the meantime, the regular-size world gets populated with extraneous subplots that never earn much interest.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The researchers also built a filtering system to allow the headsets to focus only on the tiny vibrations in the skull caused by breathing and heartbeats, and remove any interference from extraneous head and body movement.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Gilbert's remains were found in December 2011 -- her death is later ruled as an accidental drowning.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The light, water-resistant fabric keeps clothes safe from accidental spills and can bear the hard wear of travel days.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The farm animals turn back into humans after kicking alien butt.—
Andy Hoglund,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Flying on an alien moon more than a billion kilometers away?—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Laemmle officials said there are no plans to redevelop the site, and the theater will continue to focus on independent, foreign and arthouse films.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Ironically, an honest-to-goodness mummy movie consumed with exotica (the first one from 1932 was released in the wake of the global mania over King Tut’s tomb) makes a lot of sense right now, with America straying into foreign deserts.—
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adventitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adventitious. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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