coincidental

[ koh-in-si-den-tl ]

adjective

1. happening by or resulting from coincidence; by chance:

   a coincidental meeting.

2. existing or occurring at the same time.

coincidental

/ kəʊˌɪnsɪˈdɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or happening by a coincidence; fortuitous

Other Words From

• co·inci·dental·ly co·in·ci·dent·ly [koh-, in, -si-d, uh, nt-lee], adverb
• nonco·inci·dental adjective
• nonco·inci·dental·ly adverb
• unco·inci·dental adjective
• unco·inci·dental·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of coincidental¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; coincident + -al ¹

Example Sentences

His highlighting Trump’s remark may not have been coincidental.

From Los Angeles Times

“The nature of the arguments that we used — the lack of proportionality relative to the alleged military use of the hospital. It all added up to an operation methodology that was common to them all and therefore can’t be considered to be coincidental.”

From Salon

That's called the reverse cat’s eye . . . which may be coincidental, who can say?

From Salon

It was "totally coincidental" the anniversary happened to fall on the pair's wedding anniversary, Mr Tatham said.

From BBC

PBS could not have wanted for better organic, coincidental advertising for its four-part series “Citizen Nation” than Oakland University student Marcus Johnson’s instant virality following the vice presidential debate.

From Salon

Related Words

• circumstantial
• fortuitous
• incidental
• unintentional