Synonyms of inadvertent

inadvertent

adjective

ˌi-nəd-ˈvər-tᵊnt 

as in accidental

happening by chance

an inadvertent encounter with a rattlesnake in the brush

Synonyms & Similar Words

• accidental
• chance
• unexpected
• unintentional
• unintended
• incidental
• unwitting
• fortuitous
• unplanned
• casual
• unpremeditated
• odd
• arbitrary
• random
• fluky
• coincidental
• unforeseen
• haphazard
• unforeseeable
• aimless
• uncertain
• involuntary
• desultory
• freak
• unconscious
• forced
• coerced
• unprompted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• intentional
• deliberate
• intended
• premeditated
• planned
• calculated
• inevitable
• certain
• predictable
• foreseeable
• sure
• fixed
• destined
• foreseen
• set
• expected
• prescribed
• predetermined
• premeditative
• conscious
• prepense
• voluntary
• willful
• knowing
• unforced
• volunteer
• preordained
• predestined
• foreordained
• freewill

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of inadvertent

When a leader announces that a new tool will simplify processes, there’s an inadvertent message sent to employees. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026

The bear-resistant container was invented to arrest the inadvertent cultivation of problem bears. — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026

Stewart recalls the whirlwind five-game series that included the star breaking teammate Sue Bird’s nose with an inadvertent elbow and game-altering clutch baskets by Taurasi. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026

The referees called a play dead over an inadvertent whistle that set up another third-down play. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026