gratuitous

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Banerjee also criticised what he called an excess of "gratuitous violence", arguing that "it is social media hype that is deciding the film's fate."

From Barron's • Jan. 25, 2026

Ms. King seeds her love story with engaging dialogue and literary references that are never pretentious or gratuitous.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

His decision for the court, handed down on Wednesday, is an incoherent mess of contradiction and casuistry, a travesty of legal writing that injects immense, gratuitous confusion into the law of equal protection.

From Slate • Jun. 18, 2025

It accused the BBC of being motivated by malice and sensationalising its broadcast with a "gratuitous" reference to Mr Adams to boost ratings.

From BBC • May 1, 2025

It seemed not only gratuitous, but rather shameful given the circumstances.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt