Gratuitously

//ɡɹəˈtu.ə.təs.li// adv

adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    Freely; in the manner of a gift, without being earned.

    "We should feed and clothe him gratuitously sometimes, and recruit him with our cordials, before we judge of him."

  2. 2
    In a manner not demanded by the circumstances, without reason, justification, cause, or proof.

    "Secondly, Mr. Browne concludes, apparently rather gratuitously, on page 441 as follows[…]"

Adverb
  1. 1
    in an uncalled-for manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
by choicefreefreelygratisindependentlyvoluntarily

Example

More examples

"People gratuitously making fools out of themselves is a consequence of a pluralistic and permissive society."

Etymology

From gratuitous + -ly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.