parenthetically

[ par-uhn-thet-i-klee ]

adverb

1. Grammar. as a qualification, explanation, or additional piece of information that interrupts a phrase or sentence; between parentheses, dashes, or commas:

   Future citations of this work will be made parenthetically in the text.

2. as an aside or digression; incidentally:

   I only mention that notion parenthetically, so let’s not get into a heavy discussion of it.

   The complaint was filed by a resident who, parenthetically, has since decided to run in the upcoming school board election.

Other Words From

• in·ter·par·en·thet·i·cal·ly adverb
• un·par·en·thet·i·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of parenthetically¹

parenthetical ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

“Do you even want to get into a discussion of gender roles here,” Crane asks parenthetically, “or can we accept that they both chose chores that they minded least or maybe even liked?”

From New York Times

That I shouldn’t be expected to was evidenced by your editor’s belated recognition of this likelihood by the decision to parenthetically define “NIL” 132 words into the article.

From Washington Post

“Obviously, this is happening because their candidates and campaigns are behind in the polls and they’re looking for anything that can stick,” he wrote, before adding parenthetically, “I’m familiar with how this stuff works.”

From New York Times

Occasionally, this commitment to the subjective past creates some cringe-worthy moments, as when he names the author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore seemingly only for the purpose of parenthetically deadnaming her a moment later.

From New York Times

The next May, the president of the society remarked parenthetically that the past year had not yielded any particularly noteworthy discoveries.

From Literature

Related Words

• casually
• remotely