extraneous
irrelevant or unrelated to the matter at hand
Word origin: From Latin extraneus, external, from extra, outside.
Extraneous in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing extraneous in a sentence.
The editor cut several extraneous paragraphs to tighten the article.
The editor cut several extraneous anecdotes that distracted from the chapter's central argument.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
The committee's report was praised for its candor, yet its central recommendation was so blank that administrators could cite it to justify nearly any policy they had already resolved to pursue.
Using “extraneous” well
Extraneous means irrelevant to the matter at hand, or sometimes coming from outside. In careful writing it flags material that should be removed as beside the point.
More GRE words starting with E
to gradually decline, recede, or diminish
overflowing enthusiasm and liveliness
the quality of overflowing, bubbling enthusiasm
overflowing with cheerful enthusiasm and high spirits
deviating from conventional or accepted behavior in odd ways
a level or rank within an organization, profession, or society
drawing from a wide and diverse range of sources or styles
to deprive of importance or overshadow by being superior
Questions about “extraneous”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.