accidentally
adverb
ac·ci·dent·al·ly
ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē 
-ˈden-tᵊl-ē
-ˈden-tᵊl-ē
: in an accidental or unintended manner : by accident
I accidentally deleted the file.
The lock prevents the gate from opening accidentally.
Six lionfish were accidentally released from a home aquarium in Biscayne Bay, Fla., during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.—
Alcestis Cooky Oberg
Alcestis Cooky ObergThe Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.—Christie Aschwanden
Christie AschwandenHe bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]
Examples of accidentally in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Real quick How this fan accidentally became a go-to Beyoncé concert livestreamer.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
In March, Hegseth shared details about action against Houthi targets in Yemen in a Signal chat with top White House officials that accidentally included a journalist.
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 21 Apr. 2025
But in the show, Abby accidentally sets loose a horde of infected onto the city, probably for the sake of adding an extra action set piece early in the season.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
In March, it was revealed that Hegseth accidentally texted secret bombing plans in a Signal chat that included a reporter, raising alarms about his handling of sensitive military information.
—ArsTechnica, 21 Apr. 2025
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Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
In March, Hegseth shared details about action against Houthi targets in Yemen in a Signal chat with top White House officials that accidentally included a journalist.
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 21 Apr. 2025
But in the show, Abby accidentally sets loose a horde of infected onto the city, probably for the sake of adding an extra action set piece early in the season.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
In March, it was revealed that Hegseth accidentally texted secret bombing plans in a Signal chat that included a reporter, raising alarms about his handling of sensitive military information.
—ArsTechnica, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accidentally
Cite this Entry
“Accidentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accidentally. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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