accidental

[ ak-si-den-tl ]

adjective

1. happening by chance or accident; not planned; unexpected:

   an accidental meeting.

   Synonyms: unintentional

   Antonyms: contrived, planned

2. nonessential; incidental; subsidiary:

   accidental benefits.

3. Music. relating to or indicating sharps, flats, or naturals.

noun

1. a nonessential or subsidiary circumstance, characteristic, or feature.
2. Music. a sign placed before a note indicating a chromatic alteration of its pitch.

accidental

/ ˌæksɪˈdɛntəl /

adjective

1. occurring by chance, unexpectedly, or unintentionally
2. nonessential; incidental
3. music denoting sharps, flats, or naturals that are not in the key signature of a piece
4. logic (of a property) not essential; contingent

noun

1. an incidental, nonessential, or supplementary circumstance, factor, or attribute
2. music a symbol denoting a sharp, flat, or natural that is not a part of the key signature

Derived Forms

• ˌacciˈdentally, adverb

Other Words From

• ac·ci·den·tal·ly ac·ci·dent·ly adverb
• ac·ci·den·tal·ness ac·ci·den·tal·i·ty noun
• non·ac·ci·den·tal adjective noun
• non·ac·ci·den·tal·ness noun
• pre·ac·ci·den·tal adjective
• pseu·do·ac·ci·den·tal adjective
• qua·si-ac·ci·den·tal adjective
• un·ac·ci·den·tal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of accidental¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word accidentālis. See accident, -al ¹

Synonym Study

Accidental, casual, fortuitous all describe something outside the usual course of events. Accidental implies occurring unexpectedly or by chance: an accidental blow. Casual describes a passing event of slight importance: a casual reference. Fortuitous is applied to events occurring without known cause, often of a fortunate or favorable nature: a fortuitous shower of meteors. It often also implies good luck or good fortune: a fortuitous choice leading to rapid advancement.

Example Sentences

I’d call it a gaffe but that implies that it was accidental, and you could tell the guy knew exactly what he was saying and doing.

From Slate

In Beirut — a city devastated by Lebanon’s 15-year civil war, the 2006 war with Israel and then a gargantuan 2020 accidental port explosion that wiped out 87,000 homes — that attitude comes sooner than most places, less due to romantic notions of resilience but rather because of experience under fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Hadush’s officers have removed the fuses from some of the weapons they have found, but even so he says extreme heat or accidental fire could detonate them.

From BBC

The department’s reports do not explain why Sheriff Bianco determined that the death was accidental.

From Los Angeles Times

Whether or not those blocks were accidental, as Meta spokespeople claim, this one certainly wasn’t, and is all the stranger for that: On Monday, Threads and Instagram booted the respective accounts of the famed celebrity flight tracker that had already been banned from Twitter in late 2022.

From Slate

Related Words

• coincidental
• inadvertent
• incidental
• random
• unexpected
• unforeseen
• unintended
• unintentional
• unplanned