gratuitous : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: gratuitous	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for gratuitous
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
gratuitous adj without cause; "a gratuitous insult" costing nothing; "complimentary tickets"; "free admission" Synonym(s): complimentary, costless, free, gratis(p), gratuitous unnecessary and unwarranted; "a strikers' tent camp...was burned with needless loss of life" Synonym(s): gratuitous, needless, uncalled-for
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Gratuitous \Gratu"itous\a. [L. gratuitus, from gratus pleasing. See {Grate}, a., {Gratis.}] 1. Given without an equivalent or recompense; conferred without valuable consideration; granted without pay, or without claim or merit; not required by justice. We mistake the gratuitous blessings of Heaven for the fruits of our own industry. --L'Estrange. 2. Not called for by the circumstances; without reason, cause, or proof; adopted or asserted without any good ground; as, a gratuitous assumption. Acts of gratuitous self-humiliation. --De Quincye. -- {Gratu"itously}, adv. -- {Gratu"itousness}, n.