Meanings
adverbparenthetically (comparative more parenthetically, superlative most parenthetically)
comparative more parenthetically · superlative most parenthetically
- As an aside, incidentally.
«Just as we passed that other lamp I was going to tell you a further thing, Sal, but now I am parenthetically continuing with a new thought and by the time we reach the next I’ll return to the original subject, agreed?»
1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC - Using parentheses.
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
Origin
- Englishparenthetical
- Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
- Proto-Germanic*līką
- Englishparenthetically
From parenthetical + -ly.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French entre parenthèses, par parenthèse
- entre parenthèsesincidentally
- par parenthèseusing parentheses
Italian tra parentesi, tra l'altro
- tra parentesiincidentally
- tra l'altroincidentally
Spanish como ladillo, entre paréntesis
- como ladilloincidentally
- entre paréntesisincidentally
Cite this entry
APA
parenthetically. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parenthetically
MLA
“parenthetically.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parenthetically. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parenthetically,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parenthetically.
Source: parenthetically on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.