ad·ven·ti·tious

(ăd′vĕn-tĭsh′əs, -vən-)

adj.

1. Arising from an external cause or factor; not inherent: symmetry that was purely adventitious; adventitious circumstances that contributed to the plan's success.

2. Biology

a. Of or belonging to a structure that develops in an unusual place: adventitious roots.

b. Originating from an external source, especially as a contaminant: adventitious viruses in a cell culture.

c. Not congenital: adventitious deafness.

[From Latin adventīcius, foreign, from adventus, arrival; see advent.]

ad′ven·ti′tious·ly adv.

ad′ven·ti′tious·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

adventitious

(ˌædvɛnˈtɪʃəs)

adj

1. added or appearing accidentally or unexpectedly

2. (Botany) (of a plant or animal part) developing in an abnormal position, as a root that grows from a stem

[C17: from Latin adventīcius coming from outside, from adventus a coming]

ˌadvenˈtitiously adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ad•ven•ti•tious

(ˌæd vənˈtɪʃ əs)

adj.

1. associated by chance and not as an integral part; extrinsic.

2. appearing in an unusual or abnormal place, as a root on a stem.

[1595–1605; < Latin adventīcius literally, coming from without =advent(us), past participle of advenīre (see advent) + -īcius -itious]

ad`ven•ti′tious•ly, adv.

ad`ven•ti′tious•ness, n.

adventitious

Growth produced where it does not normally occur. For example, roots or buds produced along stems.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

adventitious - associated by chance and not an integral part; "poetry is something to which words are the accidental, not by any means the essential form"- Frederick W. Robertson; "they had to decide whether his misconduct was adventitious or the result of a flaw in his character"

extrinsic - not forming an essential part of a thing or arising or originating from the outside; "extrinsic evidence"; "an extrinsic feature of the new building"; "that style is something extrinsic to the subject"; "looking for extrinsic aid"

adventitious

adjective

Not part of the real or essential nature of a thing:

adscititious, incidental, supervenient.

Translations

accessoire accidentel adventice auxiliaire secondaire

adventitious

[ˌædvenˈtɪʃəs] ADJ (frm) → adventicio

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

adventitious

adj (form) → zufällig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

adventitious

[ˌævɛnˈtɪʃəs] adj (frm) (event, situation) → fortuito/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Her bridal adornments, it is true, at first caused some little dismay, having painted and anointed herself for the occasion according to the Chinook toilet; by dint, however, of copious ablutions, she was freed from all adventitious tint and fragrance, and entered into the nuptial state, the cleanest princess that had ever been known, of the somewhat unctuous tribe of the Chinooks.

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Neither the pride nor the safety of the more important States or confederacies would permit them long to submit to this mortifying and adventitious superiority.

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But when the disease was more stubborn and violent, he let in the muzzle while the bellows were full of wind, which he discharged into the body of the patient; then withdrew the instrument to replenish it, clapping his thumb strongly against the orifice of then fundament; and this being repeated three or four times, the adventitious wind would rush out, bringing the noxious along with it, (like water put into a pump), and the patient recovered.

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Surely, where it is necessary from any adventitious circumstances to lay the heart open in this manner, it should only be done to those whose characters are connected with our own, and who feel ridicule inflicted on us, as disgrace heaped on themselves.

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And, indeed, the character of the Syrian monarch does by no means stand in need of any adventitious embellishment.

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It was then that the ecstasy and the dream began, in which emotion was the matter of the universe, and matter but an adventitious intrusion likely to hinder you from spinning where you wanted to spin.

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He was a Portuguese of sixty or thereabouts, Senhor Joaquin Santos by name; at first it was incredible to me that he had no title, so noble was his bearing; but very soon I realized that he was one of those to whom adventitious honors can add no lustre.

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Things he did, no matter how adventitious or spontaneous, struck the popular imagination as remarkable.

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I have little reason to believe, from certain warnings I have had since I returned to England, that it will be tenderly or favourably received by the American people; and as I have written the Truth in relation to the mass of those who form their judgments and express their opinions, it will be seen that I have no desire to court, by any adventitious means, the popular applause.

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I am sure most people would have thought him an ugly man; yet there was so much unconscious pride in his port; so much ease in his demeanour; such a look of complete indifference to his own external appearance; so haughty a reliance on the power of other qualities, intrinsic or adventitious, to atone for the lack of mere personal attractiveness, that, in looking at him, one inevitably shared the indifference, and, even in a blind, imperfect sense, put faith in the confidence.

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Such an expression is often mistaken for manly frankness, when in truth it arises from the reckless indifference of a libertine disposition, conscious of superiority of birth, of wealth, or of some other adventitious advantage, totally unconnected with personal merit.

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He scarcely knew a hard chair from a soft one, and he possessed a talent for stretching his legs which quite dispensed with adventitious facilities.

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