Meaning of GRATUITOUS
Pronunciation: | | gru'tooitus
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WordNet Dictionary |
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| Definition: | |
- [adj] without cause; "a gratuitous insult"
- [adj] unnecessary and unwarranted; "a strikers' tent camp...was burned with needless loss of life"
- [adj] costing nothing; "complimentary tickets"
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| Synonyms: | | complimentary, costless, free, gratis(p), needless, uncalled-for, unmerited, unnecessary, unneeded, unpaid |
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Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| Definition: | | \Gra*tu"i*tous\a. [L. gratuitus, from gratus
pleasing. See {Grate}, a., {Gratis.}]
1. Given without an equivalent or recompense; conferred
without valuable consideration; granted without pay, or
without claim or merit; not required by justice.
We mistake the gratuitous blessings of Heaven for
the fruits of our own industry. --L'Estrange.
2. Not called for by the circumstances; without reason,
cause, or proof; adopted or asserted without any good
ground; as, a gratuitous assumption.
Acts of gratuitous self-humiliation. --De Quincye.
-- {Gra*tu"i*tous*ly}, adv. -- {Gra*tu"i*tous*ness}, n.
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Thesaurus Terms |
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| Related Terms: | | accorded, aimless, allowed, amorphous, arbitrary, autonomous, baseless, bestowed, biggety, bluff, bottomless, brash, capricious, casual, charitable, cheeky, chutzpadik, cocky, complimentary, contemptuous, costless, crusty, de trop, derisive, desultory, disarticulated, discontinuous, discretional, discretionary, disjunct, disordered, dispensable, dispersed, disproportionate, disrespectful, elective, eleemosynary, erratic, excess, expendable, expenseless, expletive, facy, fitful, flip, flippant, for free, for love, for nothing, formless, free, free as air, free for nothing, free gratis, free of charge, free of cost, free will, freebie, fresh, frivolous, gally, giftlike, given, God-given, granted, gratis, groundless, haphazard, hit-or-miss, immethodical, impertinent, impudent, in excess, inchoate, incoherent, indefensible, independent, indiscriminate, irrational, irregular, malapert, meaningless, misshapen, needless, nervy, nonessential, nonmandatory, nonsymmetrical, nonsystematic, nonuniform, offered, on the house, optional, orderless, pert, planless, pleonastic, proffered, prolix, promiscuous, providential, random, reasonless, redundant, rude, sassy, saucy, self-acting, self-active, self-determined, self-determining, senseless, shapeless, smart, smart-alecky, smart-ass, spare, spasmodic, spontaneous, sporadic, straggling, straggly, supererogatory, superfluous, systemless, tautologic, tautologous, to spare, unarranged, unasked, unbesought, unbidden, unbought, uncalled-for, unclassified, uncoerced, uncompelled, undirected, unessential, unforced, unfounded, ungraded, ungrounded, uninfluenced, uninvited, unjoined, unjustifiable, unjustified, unlooked-for, unmethodical, unnecessary, unneeded, unordered, unorganized, unpaid-for, unpressured, unprompted, unrequested, unrequired, unsolicited, unsorted, unsought, unsupportable, unsymmetrical, unsystematic, untaxed, ununiform, unwarranted, unwelcome, vague, verbose, voluntary, volunteer, vouchsafed, wandering, wanton, willful, willing, wise-ass, without charge |
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