Extraneous
/ɪkˈstreɪniəs/
adjectiveC1
Definition
Extraneous describes things that are extra, not needed, or not connected to what is important. It often refers to information, objects, or details that do not belong or do not help in a particular situation.
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See It in Action
Not needed or not related to the main thing
- •The report had some extraneous information that made it hard to understand.
- •Please remove any extraneous details from your essay.
- •The teacher told us to focus on the main points and ignore extraneous facts.
Coming from outside or external (less common)
- •The noise was extraneous to the meeting and made it difficult to concentrate.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "extraneous" like "extra," but with a negative meaning—it means extra things that do not belong or are not useful
- ✓Picture a clean desk with some papers and pens, and then imagine some random trash or old notes that do not belong there
- ✓It's the feeling of distraction or confusion when you have too many unnecessary details in a story or problem
- ✓Sounds like "extra-nee-us" → imagine something extra that sneaks in and bothers you because it is not needed
- ✓Think of a detective story where clues that do not help solve the case are extraneous
- ✓NOT like "extra" (which can be just additional and sometimes good), extraneous means unnecessary or unwanted extra
- ✓NOT like "important" or "related," extraneous things do not connect to the main idea or goal
Try Other Words
- •Unnecessary: not needed (Use when you want to say something is not needed in any situation)
- •Irrelevant: not related to the subject (Use when the extra thing does not connect to the main topic)
- •Superfluous: more than enough, too much (Use in formal contexts when something is overly extra)
- •Redundant: repeating or not needed because it is already included (Use when something repeats and is not needed)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "extra-" (outside, beyond) + "-aneous" (a suffix forming adjectives)
- •Etymology: From Latin "extraneus," meaning "foreign, external, not belonging"
- •Historical development: Originally meant something coming from outside or foreign; later used to mean unnecessary or not related
- •Modern usage: Used mainly to describe things that are unnecessary or not related to the main topic or purpose
Reflect & Connect
•Can something be extraneous in one situation but necessary in another? How do we decide?
•How does removing extraneous information help us understand things better?
Fill in the blanks
1.The essay was too long because it included many extraneous ___ that did not support the main argument.
2.When solving a problem, it is important to ignore extraneous ___ that might confuse you.
3.The teacher said the student's answer was good but had some extraneous ___ that should be removed.
4.Extraneous noise in the background made it ___ to hear the speaker clearly.
5.If a detail is extraneous, it usually means it is not ___ to the topic.
6.The instructions were clear and did not contain any extraneous ___.
7.To improve your writing, try to cut out extraneous ___ and focus on the main ideas.