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
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
Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 5 July 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adventitious
Adjective
-
As Spell-Hansson notes in her research publication, organizational leaders can be aware of the interplay of extrinsic and intrinsic barriers and opportunities and be strategic in crafting workplace cultures that will be welcoming to all potential employees.—
Susan Madsen,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
-
Is your motivation for doing well extrinsic or intrinsic?—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
Leading up to kickoff of Belichick’s debut at Chapel Hill, college football, this community and certainly the TV networks were thrilled with the prospect of this grouchy old man turning an irrelevant football team into something worth watching.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Natural gas fulfills much of this need, while coal is dirtier, expensive, and increasingly irrelevant for electricity production.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Many, if not most, companies use and rely on cloud services, vendors and other external partners to manage their data and operations leaving customers’ data vulnerable when their employees are manipulated through social engineering.—
Steve Weisman,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The pool and rooftop bars are for hotel guests only, while the restaurants are open to external guests.—
Heather Richardson,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The recent economic downturn has forced consumers to cut extraneous costs like adult content subscriptions.—
Jasmine Mithani,
Them.,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Maybe that’s why, compared with some other kinds of nitpickers, pop critics can seem especially extraneous.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Taylor Farms has recalled its Honey Balsamic Salad Kits in response to an accidental switch in the salad dressing.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The safety lock prevents accidental deployment while the Flex Shears tool is in your pocket or bag.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The first two matches this season provided contrasting evidence as to whether Wieffer, after a difficult debut campaign with Brighton, is getting to grips with a position that was alien to him in his native Netherlands.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Coming up with an answer forces us to speculate about alien motives.—
Matthew Hutson,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
International implications of using foreign fighters By allowing non-Ukrainians to serve, Kyiv runs the risk of these fighters being labelled as mercenaries by Russia, leaving them vulnerable to capture, detention and extradition to Russia.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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One of the charming aspects of following foreign football is realising that certain concepts are expressed in different ways to how it’s done in your own country.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adventitious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adventitious. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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