accidently

adverb

ac·​ci·​dent·​ly ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē 

ˈak-sə-dənt-,

ˈak-sə-ˌdent-

: accidentally

Law enforcement officials said that an unattended candle accidently lit her living room couch on fire.

—Paul Chi

He was turning out of the gateway when he accidently stumbled against a tall man wrapped in a cloak, who was at that moment coming out of the inn door.

—Charles Dickens

Usage of Accidently

The adverb accidently has been in use since the 18th century. It continues to appear regularly in published writing, but it is far less common than accidentally, and it is sometimes cited as an error.

Examples of accidently in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now Tamra accidently on purpose lets slip to Gina and Emily that during the previous season Katie had videotaped Shannon having a meltdown and later showed it to Alexis Bellino, Shannon’s biggest enemy in that season. —Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 18 July 2025

Chelsea was accidently killed by a stray bullet when security guards were shooting at Rick. —David Wysong, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

And farmers working adjacent lands, who used the contaminated water to clean their animals, accidently killed dozens of pigs. —IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2014

Pointing a gun inevitably means firing a shot, and Ellie fires in self-defense, accidently killing both with one bullet. —Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above