Synonym Chooser

How is the word extraneous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of extraneous are alien, extrinsic, and foreign. While all these words mean "external to a thing, its essential nature, or its original character," extraneous applies to what is on or comes from the outside and may or may not be capable of becoming an essential part.

arguments extraneous to the issue

How do alien and foreign relate to one another, in the sense of extraneous?

Alien is stronger than foreign in suggesting opposition, repugnance, or irreconcilability.

a practice totally alien to her nature

Where would extrinsic be a reasonable alternative to extraneous?

The words extrinsic and extraneous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, extrinsic applies to what is distinctly outside the thing in question or is not contained in or derived from its essential nature.

sentimental value that is extrinsic to the house's market value

When can foreign be used instead of extraneous?

While in some cases nearly identical to extraneous, foreign applies to what is so different as to be rejected or repelled or to be incapable of becoming assimilated.

techniques foreign to French cuisine

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of extraneous That way, the team could cut extraneous questions that obscured a client’s true vulnerability and could be traumatizing for a client to talk through unnecessarily. Carly Stern, Vox, 6 Dec. 2024 By midday, Johnson had a new gambit, Plan C, in which government spending would be extended three months with some of the extraneous elements of the bill stripped out, and without the change to the debt ceiling that Trump and Vance had wanted. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024 For all its credits, the Swift Go 14 still makes Acer’s regular sin of sticking a few too many little pieces of extraneous software onto the machine. PCMAG, 27 Nov. 2024 Vitrines holding wildly different white or black objects make no sense, because whatever might be the specific visual point of the art objects is extraneous. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for extraneous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extraneous
Adjective
  • All that’s missing from this run for Sampson is a national title, but whether that comes or not, this is a legendary stretch at a school that was a has-been, irrelevant in the sport with no sign of hope.
    CJ Moore, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
  • That's a day where those two objects are completely irrelevant.
    Mark Joseph, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The intelligent external inspection system can detect and alert defects in real time, while products are fully traceable with real-time quality monitoring throughout the production process.
    Li Jun, WWD, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Schneider doesn’t have much history of spending big on external free-agent guards, and Ethan Pocic is the only interior lineman he’s drafted in the first two rounds (James Carpenter, Germain Ifedi and Justin Britt were selected to play tackle).
    Michael-Shawn Dugar, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • And that is not something extrinsic, imposed by regulation or taxation, but inherent to the way the company conceives of itself, its ownership structure, its governance, its performance metrics, its finances — everything.
    IESE Business School, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Those sensors detect the subtle vibrations that are transmitted to the extrinsic laryngeal muscles (in the neck) from other anatomical locations including the velum, oropharynx, tongue, and epiglottis.
    Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
Adjective
  • As the largest startup offering cyber insurance and proactive monitoring tools with over 90,000 policyholders, Coalition insures against incidents like cyberattacks, email scams and accidental privacy violations.
    Jeff Kauflin, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2025
  • The death of a man whose body was found in a burning car in Cromwell was ruled accidental, according to the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 17 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Extraneous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extraneous. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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