extraneous
Beyond the point
The extra- part of extraneous is a good clue to its meaning: extraneous means inessential, irrelevant, or unrelated.
It usually has a somewhat negative connotation because the implication is that the extraneous thing referred to is not needed: In the book’s new edition, a great deal of extraneous material has been moved to the appendices.
Extraneous noise in a recording or in a live setting means noise that interferes with people hearing what is of interest.
Exceeding what's needed
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
- excessSurplus beyond need
- surplusAmount exceeding requirement
- unneededNot required at all
dispensable · gratuitous · excessive · overflow · overabundance · needless · unwarranted · spare
Barely connected to main point
- unrelatedHaving no link
- off-topicUnrelated to discussion
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
- beside the pointUnrelated to the matter
inconsequential · peripheral · incidental · inapplicable · digression · nonessential · unconnected · foreign
redundant
Exceeding what's needed
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
- excessSurplus beyond need
- surplusAmount exceeding requirement
unneeded · dispensable · gratuitous · excessive · overflow · overabundance · needless · unwarranted · spare · leftover
tangential
Barely connected to main point
- unrelatedHaving no link
- off-topicUnrelated to discussion
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
beside the point · inconsequential · peripheral · incidental · inapplicable · digression · nonessential · unconnected · foreign · outside
- Insignificant thingstrivial, minor, small, tiny, negligible
- nonessentialunnecessary, unneeded, nonessential, inessential, dispensable
- out of placemisfit, odd, misplaced, unsuitable, unfitting
- outer edgesedge, border, boundary, perimeter, periphery
extraneousrelevant
Applying to the topic
pertinent · germane · applicable · apropos · material
extraneousessential
Fundamentally necessary
necessary · integral · fundamental · vital · indispensable