3 uses
(click/touch triangles for details)
Definition
unnecessary and unwarranted
or less commonly (except where it is common in the legal field): costing nothing
or less commonly (except where it is common in the legal field): costing nothing
- "Dear father," he said sadly, "I wish you would not expose yourself to such gratuitous pain from scoundrels!"4 — The Consequence (20% in)
- To her and her like, birth itself was an ordeal of degrading personal compulsion, whose gratuitousness nothing in the result seemed to justify, and at best could only palliate.6 — The Convert (88% in)
- They were only women; they were not regular labourers; they were not particularly required anywhere; hence they had to hire a waggon at their own expense, and got nothing sent gratuitously.6 — The Convert (89% in)
There are no more uses of "gratuitous" in Tess of the d'Urbervilles.
Typical Usage
(best examples)