abjunctive
adj.adj. describing a word or phrase that adds extra information to a sentence but is not necessary for the main meaning. It is often used in grammar to talk about parts of a sentence that are optional.
adj. relating to or serving as an abjunct, which is a syntactic constituent that provides non-essential information. Often used in linguistic analysis to describe elements that can be omitted without changing the core grammatical structure of a sentence.
The word 'quickly' is an abjunctive phrase in this sentence.
In the sentence 'She walked quickly to the store', the adverb 'quickly' is an abjunctive element that adds detail to the verb.
Linguists often distinguish between core arguments and abjunctive modifiers, noting that the latter can be deleted without resulting in a grammatical error or a loss of the sentence's primary meaning.
Last updated June 22, 2026