1
as in irrelevant
not being a vital part of or belonging to something
the architect's streamlined modern style shuns any sort of extraneous ornamentation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in immaterial
not having anything to do with the matter at hand
the professor would have covered all of the course material if she had refrained from her extraneous remarks on just about everything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of extraneous
But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentucky’s hemp farmers and small businesses.
—
Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025
Our commerce writer Julia Harrison writes that her Moccamaster One Cup is a delight, principally because of its simplicity as a drip coffee maker—free of extraneous frothers or digital interfaces or timers.
—Blake Bakkila, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025
If someone is furloughed, the thinking goes, they could more easily be seen as extraneous, giving the Administration an easier path to arguing they aren’t needed at all.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 1 Oct. 2025
While self-locking carabiners, a harness, and a helmet are needed, other tools commonplace in mountaineering, like ropes and belay devices, are extraneous here.
—AFAR Media, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extraneous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extraneous
Adjective
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Sure, pundits and Twitter philosophers love to portray bowl games as irrelevant relics of the past that nobody cares about anymore.—
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The characters are lying, to themselves and to each other, but the role of the audience in believing or not believing their lies is totally irrelevant.—
Adjective
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Bidding and construction began in November So far, the building’s external structure is complete, with the installation of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems ongoing.—
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Díaz-Canel was quick to reject external interference in Cuba’s affairs.—
Adjective
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Common in the Ninth Circuit, the extrinsic test looks at comparison, context and, in a case like this, specific plot elements.—
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Nonetheless, too many workplaces are organized around extrinsic rewards such as money, titles, team size, and proximity to power, which can spark effort in the short run but rarely sustain it.—
Adjective
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Although individual plants have a lifespan of 30-90 years, adventitious shoots grow up from roots.—
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The patchy and adventitious quality of Jameson’s reconstruction must make clear his difference as a thinker.—
Adjective
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Elvyn Yohel Ramos Routt County Investigators also said Ramos filed an insurance claim reporting the fire as accidental.—
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In another show, with a lesser writer, such incongruities could be read as character inconsistencies, accidental oversights, mistakes.—
Cite this Entry
“Extraneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extraneous. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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