Meanings
- not comparableUsing, containing, or within parenthesis.
You wrote "Bob (my best friend) works in finance", but I think you should rephrase that parenthetical part.
- not comparableExplaining or qualifying something.
- not comparableIncidental.
plural parentheticals
- A word or phrase within parentheses.
- A descriptor or modifier enclosed within parentheses and put, indented, in a line of dialogue to describe how it should be acted or directed onscreen.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivequalifying or explaining; placed or as if placed in parentheses
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπαρένθετος
- Late Latinparenthesis
- Medieval Latinparentheticus
- Englishparenthetical
From Medieval Latin parentheticus (from Late Latin parenthesis or Ancient Greek παρένθετος (parénthetos), + -icus) + -al. By surface analysis, par- + en- + thetical.
More words from Medieval Latin, Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto parenteza
- parentezaparenthetical
Cite this entry
parenthetical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parenthetical
“parenthetical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parenthetical. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parenthetical,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parenthetical.
Source: parenthetical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.