inadvertent

adjective

in·​ad·​ver·​tent ˌi-nəd-ˈvər-tᵊnt 

1

: unintentional

an inadvertent omission

2

: not focusing the mind on a matter : inattentive

inadvertently adverb

Did you know?

The Formation of Inadvertent

It may look innocent, but inadvertent belongs to a class of words that provoke anger in many people who care about language – to wit, the back-formation. Bucking the usual trend in which longer words are formed from shorter ones by the addition of an affix (for example, superficiality from superficial), back-formations are created by clipping off a piece of a longer word; in this case, inadvertent was back-formed from inadvertence or inadvertency. A fair number of these words populate English, including brainwash (from brainwashing), complicit (from complicity), escalate (from escalator), and televise (from television). Certain back-formations, such as liaise (which comes from liaison) rub some people the wrong way. While they are under no obligation to accept liaise, there is nothing inherently wrong with back-formations; they are just another way our language has of creating new words.

Synonyms of inadvertent

• accidental

Examples of inadvertent in a Sentence

an inadvertent encounter with a rattlesnake in the brush

Recent Examples on the Web

In 141 breaches and inadvertent data releases between 2023 and 2025, the comptroller’s office found officials delayed reporting 48% of incidents to the New York State Education Department, and held up notifying families about 11% of the time. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 4 May 2026

Providers also can fall victim to inadvertent bias, assuming a young, otherwise healthy patient must be dealing with something other than shingles. —Alyssa Sparacino, Glamour, 27 Apr. 2026

Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist left during the second period after taking an inadvertent skate to the face by Michael McCarron as Lundkvist was being called for tripping McCarron. —CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026

Any inadvertent mistakes, typos or omissions will slow down the processing of your return and delivery of your refund. —Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from inadvertence

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

inadvertent

adjective

in·​ad·​ver·​tent ˌin-əd-ˈvərt-ᵊnt 

1

: not paying attention : inattentive

2

: not meant, sought, or intended : unintentional

an inadvertent violation of the law

inadvertently adverb