Know Your Next Word : gratuitous
11. gratuitous :
adjective :
given freely (said of something bad), unjustified, unprovoked, uncalled for
usage :
The scathing review of the movie contained several gratuitous remarks about the sex life of the director.
Their attack against us was gratuitous. We had never done anything to offend them.
Gratuitous is often misunderstood because it is confused with gratuity.
A gratuity is a tip, like the one you leave in a restaurant. A gratuity is a nice thing. Gratuitous, however, is not nice. Don't confuse these words.
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