What does "adjunct" mean?
An appendage; something attached to something else in a subordinate capacity.
Adjunct
/ˈæd͡ʒ.ʌŋkt/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An appendage; something attached to something else in a subordinate capacity.
- Grammar: adjunct is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: accessory, addition, supplement, accession.
- Useful contrasts: argument, central, core element.
- Usage evidence: Before his work as an adjunct instructor, he had worked in a lab which, until it ran out of funding, sponsored his work visa.
How to use "adjunct"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "adjunct" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "adjunct" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "adjunct" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "adjunct" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "adjunct" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accessory" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "adjunct", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An appendage; something attached to something else in a subordinate capacity.
"Lie here ye weedes that I diſdaine to weare, This compleat armor, and this curtle-axe / Are adiuncts more beſeeming Tamburlaine."
- 2 a construction that can be used to extend the meaning of a word or phrase but is not one of the main constituents of a sentence wordnet
- 3 A person associated with another, usually in a subordinate position; a colleague.
"[H]e made him the aſſociate of his Heir apparant, together vvith the nevv Lord Cottington (as an adjunct of ſingular experience and truſt) in forraine travailes, and in a buſineſſe of Love, and of no equall hazzard […]"
- 4 something added to another thing but not an essential part of it wordnet
- 5 Ellipsis of adjunct professor. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"I've been given the chance to do this through my own department and through university programmes that don't have tenure-track lines and are therefore more likely to seek assistance from adjuncts."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a person who is an assistant or subordinate to another wordnet
- 7 An unmalted grain or grain product that supplements the main mash ingredient.
- 8 A quality or property of the body or mind, whether natural or acquired, such as colour in the body or judgement in the mind. dated
- 9 A key or scale closely related to another as principal; a relative or attendant key.
- 10 A phrase within a clause or sentence that is grammatically dispensable but not semantically so, modifying the meaning.
"When a female enters the profession, she is generally not referred to as doctor but as a lady doctor or woman doctor. The use of "feminizing" adjuncts designates a deviation from the norm, doctor, and does not carry the weight of the term unmodified."
- 11 A graphic element that modifies another, such as (in Linear B script) a small syllabogram that is attached to a logogram as an abbreviation of an adjective that modifies that logogram (rather than as a phonetic complement that disambiguates the logogram).
- 12 A constituent which is both the daughter and the sister of an X-bar.
"We can see from (34) that Determiners are sisters of N-bar and daughters of N-double-bar; Adjuncts are both sisters and daughters of N-bar; and Complements are sisters of N and daughters of N-bar. This means that Adjuncts resemble Complements in that both are daughters of N-bar; but they differ from Complements in that Adjuncts are sisters of N-bar, whereas Complements are sisters of N. Likewise, it means that Adjuncts resemble Determiners in that both are sisters of N-bar, but they differ from Determiners in that Adjuncts are daughters of N-bar, whereas Determiners are daughters of N-double-bar."
- 13 Symploce. rhetoric
- 14 One of a pair of morphisms which relate to each other through a pair of adjoint functors.
Verb
- 1 To work as an adjunct professor. informal, intransitive
"I also nannied through the first part of graduate school. I had friends who bartended or worked at a wine store and also adjuncted. A lot of people would package these jobs together."
Adjective
- 1 Connected in a subordinate function.
"Though that my death were adiunct to my Act, By heauen I would doe it."
- 2 Added to a faculty or staff in a secondary position.
Adjective
- 1 of or relating to a person who is subordinate to another wordnet
- 2 furnishing added support wordnet
Example
"Before his work as an adjunct instructor, he had worked in a lab which, until it ran out of funding, sponsored his work visa."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "adjunct"?
Common synonyms include: accessory, addition, supplement, accession, accessory, accessory.
How do you use "adjunct" in a sentence?
Before his work as an adjunct instructor, he had worked in a lab which, until it ran out of funding, sponsored his work visa.
How do you pronounce "adjunct"?
Pronounced /ˈæd͡ʒ.ʌŋkt/.
Etymology
From Latin adiunctus, perfect passive participle of adiungō (“join to”), from ad + iungō (“join”). Doublet of adjoint.