gratuitous

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The Word of the Day for June 22 is:

gratuitous   \gruh-TOO-uh-tuss\   adjective
     1 : done or provided without recompense : free 
    *2 : not called for by the circumstances : unwarranted

Example sentence: 
     The critics decried the gratuitous violence of the new film, declaring 
that the movie would have been better with more plot and less savagery. 

Did you know? 
     Like "gratitude," "grace," and "congratulate," "gratuitous" is a 
descendant of the Latin word "gratus," which means "pleasing" or "grateful." 
When "gratuitous" was first used in the middle of the 17th century, it meant 
"free" or "given without return benefit or compensation." The extended meaning 
"done without good reason" or "unwarranted" came about just a few decades 
later, perhaps from the belief held by some people that one should not give 
something without getting something in return. Today, that extended meaning is 
the more common sense, often used in such phrases as "a gratuitous insult," or 
to describe elements of a story that are not relevant to the plot. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.