Meaning & use
adjunct
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableformal
Something added to a main thing that is useful but not essential to it.
Grammar: Countable; often followed by to: an adjunct to treatment.
Patterns
- an adjunct to something
Exercise is a useful adjunct to medication.
The garden room is a pleasant adjunct to the main house.
Music is an adjunct to the lesson, not its core.
nouncountabletechnical
In grammar, a word or phrase that adds extra information to a sentence and can be removed without making it wrong.
Grammar: Countable grammatical term: yesterday is an adjunct in the sentence.
In She left quietly, the word quietly is an adjunct.
Time adjuncts such as tomorrow can move around the sentence.
nouncountableAmerican
In US higher education, a part-time instructor hired by the course, without full-time or permanent status.
Grammar: Countable; often used before professor: an adjunct professor.
Patterns
- adjunct professor
She works as an adjunct at two colleges.
Many adjuncts teach several courses for low pay.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Added to something as an extra, or in a supporting role.
Grammar: Used before a noun: an adjunct member.
He holds an adjunct post at the university.
The adjunct clinic opened last spring.
Word forms
| plural | adjuncts |
|---|
Common combinations
- useful adjunct
- A good map is a useful adjunct to the guidebook.
- adjunct professor
- The adjunct professor teaches on Tuesday evenings.
- adjunct to treatment
- Therapy can be an adjunct to treatment.
- adverbial adjunct
- An adverbial adjunct tells us when or where.
Synonyms and how they differ
- addition
- Addition is the everyday word for anything added, while adjunct stresses that the added thing is secondary.
- supplement
- A supplement fills a gap or boosts something, whereas an adjunct simply accompanies it.
- accessory
- An accessory is a physical add-on, while adjunct is often abstract.
- appendage
- An appendage is a part attached to something larger, often a body part, and can sound slightly unflattering.
Opposites
Word family
- adjunctive adjective
- serving as an addition
- adjoin verb
- to be next to or joined with
- junction noun
- a place where things join
Commonly confused: adjunct or adjunct vs complement?
adjunct vs adjunct vs complement
In grammar an adjunct is optional, whereas a complement is needed to complete the meaning of a verb or noun.
Practice
In the sentence 'She sang beautifully at the concert', the phrase 'at the concert' is an ______.
Choose one answer.
An adjunct is an optional piece of extra information, and removing it still leaves a complete sentence. It is not the subject or an object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adjunct”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.