parenthetical
adjective
par·en·thet·i·cal ˌper-ən-ˈthe-ti-kəl 
ˌpa-rən-
variants or less commonly parenthetic
ˌper-ən-ˈthe-tik
ˌpa-rən-
1
a
: of, relating to, or expressed in a parenthesis
a parenthetical remark/comment/note
One sentence runs on for nearly two pages; other sentences meander through the potholes of so many parenthetical expressions as to make it nearly impossible to follow the trail of the argument …
James Q. Wilson
James Q. WilsonIn a construction of this sort, the phrase "the coach said" should be regarded as a parenthetical insert and should be implicitly thought of as flanked by commas. Samuel R. Levin
Samuel R. Levin… his travel diaries were notable for their erratic punctuation, parenthetic embellishments and an extraordinary way with adjectives. William Dalrymple
William Dalrymple b
: enclosed in parentheses
a foreign word followed by a parenthetical translation
The recuperating Yankees have a parenthetical medical problem that is now part of each player's name: Hernández (elbow), Pettitte (elbow), Rivera (ankle), Mendoza (shoulder), O'Neill (foot), Justice (groin), Jeter (hamstring), Knoblauch (elbow). Put them together and it spells Yankees (problems). Dave Anderson
Dave Anderson2
: containing parentheses : using or given to using parentheses
a parenthetical style
parenthetically
ˌper-ən-ˈthe-ti-k(ə-)lē
adverb ˌpa-rən-
"They are a good nucleus of ideas for me," she says, adding, almost parenthetically, "Of course you have to know a lot about medicine to understand them." Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly 
Word History
First Known Use
1624, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
parenthetically
adverb
as in tangentially
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- tangentially
- incidentally
- secondarily
- digressively
- apropos
- interjectionally
- excursively
- en passant