Meaning & use
parenthetical
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Added into a sentence as an extra comment, usually set off by brackets, commas, or dashes.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: a parenthetical remark.
Patterns
- a parenthetical remark
- a parenthetical comment
She made a parenthetical remark about the weather in the middle of her speech.
The writer added a parenthetical note explaining the date.
His parenthetical comments made the lecture harder to follow.
nouncountable
A word, phrase, or sentence inserted in a text to give extra information without being essential.
Grammar: Countable: one parenthetical, several parentheticals.
Patterns
- a parenthetical in something
The long parenthetical in the third sentence interrupted the main idea.
The editor deleted several parentheticals from the draft.
Her essay relied heavily on parentheticals.
Word forms
| plural (noun) | parentheticals |
|---|
Common combinations
- a parenthetical remark
- He added a parenthetical remark about his old car.
- a parenthetical comment
- A parenthetical comment explained the term.
- a parenthetical citation
- The paper uses a parenthetical citation after each quotation.
- a parenthetical aside
- She offered a parenthetical aside about her childhood.
- a parenthetical phrase
- A parenthetical phrase should be set off with commas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- aside
- Aside is the everyday word for a remark made in passing, while parenthetical describes its placement inside a sentence.
- incidental
- Incidental means minor or secondary in importance, not necessarily placed inside brackets.
- interjected
- Interjected describes something thrown into a conversation, and is not limited to writing.
- digression
- Digression is a longer departure from the main topic, while a parenthetical is brief and enclosed.
Opposites
Word family
- parenthesis noun
- a bracket mark, or an inserted remark
- parentheses noun
- the plural, meaning round brackets
- parenthetically adverb
- as an added remark
- parenthesize verb
- to put in brackets
Commonly confused: parenthetical or parenthesis?
parenthetical vs parenthesis
A parenthesis is a single bracket mark or an inserted remark, while parenthetical describes things that act as such remarks.
Practice
In the sentence 'My sister (who lives in Chicago) is visiting,' the words in brackets are a ______.
Choose one answer.
The bracketed words are an inserted remark, a parenthetical. A paradox, a paragraph and a pronoun are different things.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “parenthetical”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.