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

Drivers can be fined nearly $5,000 for a single inadvertent drive-time violation, or more than $15,000 for intentional violations. —Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026

Auditors found this wasn’t inadvertent, but an intentional action to make the Transportation Trust Fund deficit appear smaller. —Steve Arentz, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026

That keeps You Got Older on the shelf, and draws your eye to the ways the play has become an inadvertent period piece. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 25 Feb. 2026

Meanwhile, victims have slammed the department for inconsistent or nonexistent redactions that allowed for the inadvertent release of nude photos and other private information about victims. —Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026