How to Use optional in a Sentence

optional

adjective
Definition of optionalnext
Synonyms for optionalnext
  • Jackets are required at the restaurant, but ties are optional.
  • Many optional features are available on this car.
  • Registration is optional, not mandatory.
  • In the model home, the optional third floor has a full bathroom.
    — Benjamin C Tankersley, Washington Post, 7 June 2023
  • All of the resort's menu items are plant-based, with some optional meat add-ons.
    — Karen Cicero, Parents, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The optional bacon adds a brawny heft here, but the stew will be just as hardy without it.
    — Melissa Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Apr. 2024
  • All the work is optional and will not count toward a student’s grade.
    — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The question box includes a space for your name, but this is optional.
    — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Many have made the tests optional, and some won’t consider them at all.
    — Rich Lowry, National Review, 2 May 2023
  • Add an optional piece of gray cardstock cut into a thin rectangle to the right side of the card.
    — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 31 May 2023
  • One’s for the keyboard itself, and the second is optional but enables the board’s passthrough USB-A 2.0 port.
    — Jon Porter, The Verge, 16 Feb. 2023
  • An optional finished basement adds 765 square feet to the open floor plan.
    — Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2024
  • The mirror is adaptable, with an optional floor stand or wall mount set-up.
    — Jennifer Nied, Women's Health, 14 July 2023
  • This was an optional add-on with last year's S7 MaxV Ultra.
    — Chuong Nguyen, Ars Technica, 23 Nov. 2023
  • Rear-wheel drive is standard on the base model, but all-wheel drive is optional there and standard on the rest of the lineup.
    — Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Most public schools plan to keep masks optional this fall.
    — Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 6 Sep. 2022
  • Their next step was to add optional learning days — two each during the winter and spring breaks.
    — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023
  • And the optional services are one of the reasons that the program has been successful.
    — jsonline.com, 21 Sep. 2022
  • Yet most schools have kept masks optional for students this year.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN, 3 Aug. 2022
  • The fresh rosemary can be subbed out for dried and the parsley is optional, just for a little extra green.
    — Julia O'Malley, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Save the Harbor/Save the Bay collects cash donations at the end, but that's optional.
    — Steph Solis, Axios, 4 Sep. 2024
  • Now Hyundai is launching the 2024 Sonata in the United States with a sharp new look, bigger screens inside, and optional all-wheel drive for the first time.
    — Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Plus, the music—and the multi-color light—are optional.
    — Christin Perry, Parents, 10 May 2024
  • The box includes a space for your name, but providing it is optional.
    — Amy Joyce, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2023
  • The use of an optional adapter and a third-party CO2 cylinder, however, allows the beer to stay fresh for up to 30 days.
    — Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 15 July 2024
  • The box includes a space for your name, but providing it is optional.
    — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 20 June 2024
  • The box includes a space for your name, but providing it is optional.
    — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2024
  • Setting up the Kubuntu Focus for the first time, you're met by a wizard that can walk you through each (optional) step.
    — Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 24 Sep. 2024
  • If the federal government makes cuts to Medicaid, optional programs could be first on the chopping block.
    — Isadora Kosofsky, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2024
  • Weather can sway election outcomes, especially in a country like the U.S. where voting is optional, many races are close and the weather itself can be extreme.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'optional.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: