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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Gratuitous \Gra*tu"i*tous\a. [L. gratuitus, from gratus pleasing. See {Grate}, adjective, {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. -- {Gra*tu"i*tous*ly}, adverb -- {Gra*tu"i*tous*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
gratuitous
adjective
1: without cause; "a gratuitous insult"
2: costing nothing; "complimentary tickets" [syn: {complimentary}, {costless}, {free}, {gratis(p)}]
3: unnecessary and unwarranted; "a strikers' tent camp...was burned with needless loss of life" [syn: {needless}, {uncalled-for}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
180 Moby Thesaurus words for "gratuitous": God-given, accorded, aimless, allowed, amorphous, arbitrary, autonomous, baseless, bestowed, biggety, bluff, bottomless, brash, capricious, casual, charitable, cheeky, chutzpadik, cocky, complimentary, contemptuous, costless, crusty, de trop, derisive, desultory, disarticulated, discontinuous, discretional, discretionary, disjunct, disordered, dispensable, dispersed, disproportionate, disrespectful, elective, eleemosynary, erratic, excess, expendable, expenseless, expletive, facy, fitful, flip, flippant, for free, for love, for nothing, formless, free, free as air, free for nothing, free gratis, free of charge, free of cost, free will, freebie, fresh, frivolous, gally, giftlike, given, granted, gratis, groundless, haphazard, hit-or-miss, immethodical, impertinent, impudent, in excess, inchoate, incoherent, indefensible, independent, indiscriminate, irrational, irregular, malapert, meaningless, misshapen, needless, nervy, nonessential, nonmandatory, nonsymmetrical, nonsystematic, nonuniform, offered, on the house, optional, orderless, pert, planless, pleonastic, proffered, prolix, promiscuous, providential, random, reasonless, redundant, rude, sassy, saucy, self-acting, self-active, self-determined, self-determining, senseless, shapeless, smart, smart-alecky, smart-ass, spare, spasmodic, spontaneous, sporadic, straggling, straggly, supererogatory, superfluous, systemless, tautologic, tautologous, to spare, unarranged, unasked, unbesought, unbidden, unbought, uncalled-for, unclassified, uncoerced, uncompelled, undirected, unessential, unforced, unfounded, ungraded, ungrounded, uninfluenced, uninvited, unjoined, unjustifiable, unjustified, unlooked-for, unmethodical, unnecessary, unneeded, unordered, unorganized, unpaid-for, unpressured, unprompted, unrequested, unrequired, unsolicited, unsorted, unsought, unsupportable, unsymmetrical, unsystematic, untaxed, ununiform, unwarranted, unwelcome, vague, verbose, voluntary, volunteer, vouchsafed, wandering, wanton, willful, willing, wise-ass, without charge
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