Adjunct: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what an adjunct is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on adjunct, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is an adjunct?

According to Collins English Dictionary, an adjunct is a noun that refers to something that is connected to something larger or more important than itself to help perform some task. This can be used in grammar to refer to a word or group of words that indicates the circumstances of an action, event, or situation like a prepositional phrase or an adverb group. These can be removed from the sentence while still remaining grammatical integrity. You might hear the word adjunct referring to an adjunct professor or adjunct faculty member. An adjunct instructor like this is of a lower rank than a tenure-track professor, and may have a master’s degree, bachelor’s degree, or doctoral degree. However, they may not be considered an essential part of the university and only teach one or two classes. An adjunct associate professor at somewhere like Yale, San Diego State, Houston State, or Brooklyn College might be a graduate student or former classroom teacher, and are not on the same level as tenure faculty members or other regular faculty members. Their minimum salary is usually lower, like that of lecturers or an adjunct assistant professor. The department chair or program director might pass judgement and make them a full time faculty member. 

Many different languages also contain words that mean adjunct. You may notice that some of these translations of adjunct look and sound similar to the word adjunct. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases that look, sound, and mean something similar while they are words of different languages. These are often formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of the word adjunct is provided by Word Sense.

  •  Maori: piripiri‎
  •  Polish: dodatkowy‎
  •  Spanish: adicional‎, extra‎, de más‎
  •  Hebrew: נוֹסָף‎ (nosaf)
  •  Czech: dodatečný‎
  •  Romanian: adițional‎ (masc.)
  •  Russian: дополни́тельный‎
  •  Esperanto: kroma‎
  •  Greek: επιπλέον‎ (neut.)
  •  Dutch: bijkomend‎
  •  Finnish: lisä-‎ (part of compound)
  •  Ukrainian: додатко́вий‎ (masc.)
  •  Italian: addizionale‎ (masc.) (f)
  •  Scottish Gaelic: a bharrachd‎
  •  Persian: اضافی‎
  •  French: additionnel‎
  •  Bulgarian: допълнителен‎
  •  Portuguese: adicional‎
  •  German: zusätzlich‎
  •  Catalan: addicional‎
  •  Belarusian: дадатко́вы‎ (masc.)

What are synonyms and antonyms of adjunct?

There are many different words that a person can use in place of the word adjunct. These words with the same definition as the word adjunct are called synonyms. Learning synonyms is a great way to expand your vocabulary, as well as to avoid repeating yourself in spoken and written English. This list of synonyms of adjunct is from Power Thesaurus

  •  accessories
  •  bonus
  •  appendages
  •  afterword
  •  secondary
  •  extension
  •  subsidiary
  •  detail
  •  fixture
  •  auxiliary
  •  pendulosity
  •  adjective
  •  aide-de-camp
  •  adjutant
  •  adapter
  •  bump-out
  •  affiliate
  •  branch
  •  augmentation
  •  brother
  •  accoutrement
  •  coda
  •  accompaniment
  •  additions
  •  qualifier
  •  appendix
  •  assistant
  •  additive
  •  addenda
  •  supplemental
  •  addendum
  •  low-level
  •  garnish
  •  enlargement
  •  increment
  •  extra
  •  component
  •  subordinate event
  •  helper
  •  lieutenant
  •  sidekick
  •  partner
  •  appurtenance
  •  sideshow
  •  attachment
  •  supplementary building
  •  afterthought
  •  codicil
  •  colleague
  •  adnoun
  •  supplement
  •  consort
  •  annexe
  •  accession
  •  companion
  •  supplementary
  •  appurtenant
  •  annex
  •  postscript
  •  add-on
  •  continuation
  •  adornment
  •  attendant
  •  part
  •  attributive
  •  accessory
  •  accessary
  •  coadjutor
  •  accompaniments
  •  circumstance
  •  complement
  •  appendage
  •  collaborator
  •  appanage
  •  ancillary
  •  junior
  •  prefixes
  •  accomplice
  •  ally
  •  concomitant
  •  aide
  •  rider
  •  ornament
  •  associate
  •  subordinate
  •  addition
  •  wing
  •  offshoot
  •  accretion
  •  adjuvant
  •  identifier
  •  tailpiece
  •  ell
  •  supplementation
  •  appliance
  •  related activity
  •  increase
  •  p.s.
  •  extras
  •  extensions

There are also numerous different words with the opposite meaning as adjunct. These are called antonyms, which are another great way to expand your English language vocabulary. These antonyms for adjunct are also provided by Power Thesaurus

  •  deformation
  •  detriment
  •  combatant
  •  limit
  •  decline
  •  deficiency
  •  weight down
  •  harm
  •  deduction
  •  enemy
  •  decrease
  •  unsupportive
  •  cutback
  •  spy
  •  heft
  •  unrelated activity
  •  descent
  •  spies
  •  different activity
  •  central core
  •  weight
  •  cost
  •  injury
  •  curtailment
  •  main person
  •  declension
  •  whole
  •  original
  •  loss
  •  deletion
  •  activity that is unrelated to
  •  wastage
  •  meat and potatoes
  •  necessity
  •  lessening
  •  separate activity
  •  queen bee
  •  foe
  •  activity that is separate from
  •  impairment
  •  combatants
  •  mass
  •  moderation
  •  degradation
  •  decrement
  •  independent activity
  •  damage
  •  omission

What is the origin of adjunct?

According to Etymonline, the word adjunct has been used since c16 and comes from the Latin adiunctus/Latin adjunctus and past participle of adiungere/past participle of adjungere.

What are examples of adjuncts?

Adjuncts can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or grammatical technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of adjuncts that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at these adjunct example sentences.

He was an adjunct professor at a New York City college. There, he taught metaphysics and developmental biology. He hoped to someday become a tenure track faculty member because teaching was his favorite thing to do.

The disgraced board member was removed from his adjunct status at the university, where he taught multimedia talent. It was all over the papers, and his students were unsure what to do now that their professor was fired. They got a new lecturer.

The American Association of University Professors makes it difficult to overcome adjunct status and become tenured. This can deter many people from pursuing a career in higher education.

Overall, an adjunct is something that is unnecessary or additional. This is often used to refer to a professor that is not considered a full faculty member or used in grammar to refer to additional information. Try using the word adjunct as a word of the day in a sentence today!

Sources:

  1. Adjunct synonyms – 713 Words and Phrases for Adjunct | Power Thesaurus 
  2. Adjunct antonyms – 48 Opposites of Adjunct | Power Thesaurus 
  3. adjunct | Origin and meaning of adjunct | Online Etymology Dictionary 
  4. Adjunct definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary 
  5. adjunct: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense