Definition of "gratuitous" []

• Given or granted without return or recompense; unearned. (adjective)
• Given or received without cost or obligation; free. (adjective)
• Unnecessary or unwarranted; unjustified: gratuitous criticism. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "My misery was what I call my gratuitous brain surgery."
• "Zimbabwe's neighbors to follow the lead of the European Union and condemn what he called the gratuitous and violent actions by Mugabe against his own people."
• "However, it is still worrying that Scotland Yard used the word 'gratuitous' to describe the Milly Dowler story, trying to say it was not in the public interest."