accidental

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adjective ac·ci·den·tal \ ˌak-sə-ˈden-tᵊl \

Definition of accidental

1 a :occurring unexpectedly or by chance

an accidental discovery

Their meeting was purely accidental.

b :happening without intent or through carelessness and often with unfortunate results

The death was ruled accidental.

2 :arising from extrinsic causes :incidental, nonessential

3 of a bird :appearing outside its normal geographic range, migration route, or season

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accidentally

play \-ˈdent-lē, -ˈden-tᵊl-ē\ or less commonly accidently play \-ˈdent-lē\ adverb

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accidentalness

play \-ˈden-tᵊl-nəs\ noun

See accidental defined for English-language learners

See accidental defined for kids

Examples of accidental in a Sentence

an accidental discovery of oil
The timing of the announcement was purely accidental.
The death was ruled accidental.

Recent Examples of accidental from the Web

Bautista spoke with GQ about becoming a more serious actor, and the sudden, accidental political relevance of Bushwick.

— tom philip, GQ, "Dave Bautista Wants to Prove He's a Serious Actor," 26 Aug. 2017
But the alt-country singer-songwriter says that the punk rock hairstyle is purely accidental.

— chrissie dickinson, chicagotribune.com, "Lillie Mae isn't trying to rebel," 24 Aug. 2017
Your father-in-law’s repeated accidental winks to the white supremacist community is perhaps a savvy political strategy if the neo-Nazis are considered a sizable voting block—

— emily jane fox, The Hive, "Jared and Ivanka Aren’t Pushing Bannon Out—Yet," 15 Aug. 2017
Fire investigators have determined that the Saturday afternoon blaze was accidental and began in a second-floor kitchen, the Fire Department said in a statement.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Northgate apartment fire causes estimated $6 million in damage," 6 Aug. 2017
The incident is being investigated as an accidental shooting.

— staff report, Post-Tribune, "4-year-old dies after accidentally shooting himself, police say," 5 Aug. 2017
In yet another book about Monroe, Donald Spoto suggested in 1993 that Monroe suffered an accidental overdose after lying to her doctors about her medication.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "The Craziest Conspiracy Theories About Marilyn Monroe's Death," 27 July 2017
And perhaps, also, the odd deliberate folly dotted around, as opposed to the accidental follies that make up so much of modern architecture.

— The Economist, "Artificial intelligenceComputer analysis of what is scenic may help town planners," 20 July 2017
Battiste chimed in and said the investigation into the case confirmed his death was an accidental drowning without any trauma.

— prescotte stokes iii, AL.com, "Mobile crime stats lowest in decades, but homicides are on the rise," 14 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'accidental.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of accidental

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French accidentel, borrowed from Late Latin accidentālis, from Latin accident-, accidens accident + -ālis ¹-al

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First Known Use: 14th century

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accidental Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of accidental

accidental, fortuitous, casual, contingent mean not amenable to planning or prediction. accidental stresses chance.

- any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental

fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause.

- a series of fortuitous events

casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent.

- a casual encounter with a stranger

contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence.

- the contingent effects of the proposed law

accidental

noun

Definition of accidental

1 :a nonessential property

2 a music :a note foreign to a key indicated by a signature

b :a prefixed sign indicating an accidental

3 :a bird found outside its normal geographic range, migration route, or season :vagrant

Recent Examples of accidental from the Web

The medical examiner has previously ruled the death accidental and said alcohol was a factor.

— carrie wells, baltimoresun.com, "Ocean City police conclude investigation into death of Texas woman," 24 Aug. 2017
Police spent several months investigating the incident before closing the case, ruling the death accidental.

— dave altimari, courant.com, "Mother Of Teen Who Fell From Top Of Hartford Bar Doubts Daughter Was Alone On Roof," 4 Aug. 2017
A concurrent investigation by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tice was killed by blunt-force trauma to his head and ruled the death accidental.

— the denver post, The Mercury News, "California yoga mogul’s mysterious death: Trevor Tice’s drunken last hours detailed," 27 Jan. 2017
A concurrent investigation by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tice was killed by blunt-force trauma to his head and ruled the death accidental.

— the denver post, The Mercury News, "California yoga mogul’s mysterious death: Trevor Tice’s drunken last hours detailed," 27 Jan. 2017
A concurrent investigation by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tice was killed by blunt-force trauma to his head and ruled the death accidental.

— The Denver Post, "Coroner’s report details drunken last hours of CorePower Yoga founder Trevor Tice," 26 Jan. 2017

Origin and Etymology of accidental

Middle English, borrowed from Medieval Latin accidentālis, noun derivative of Late Latin accidentālis ¹accidental

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

ACCIDENTAL Defined for English Language Learners

accidental

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adjective

Definition of accidental for English Language Learners

: happening in a way that is not planned or intended : happening by accident : happening as an accident

ACCIDENTAL Defined for Kids

accidental

play

adjective ac·ci·den·tal \ ˌak-sə-ˈden-tᵊl \

Definition of accidental for Students

1 :happening by chance or unexpectedly

an accidental discovery

2 :not happening or done on purpose

an accidental shooting

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accidentally

adverb

I broke it accidentally.

Learn More about accidental

See words that rhyme with accidental Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for accidental Spanish Central: Translation of accidental Nglish: Translation of accidental for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of accidental for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about accidental

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accidental

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ACCIDENTAL Defined for English Language Learners

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accidentally

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