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

Chaston Ditta threw two second-half touchdown passes, and East Carolina overcame an inadvertent whistle that negated a long touchdown in a 23-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl on Saturday. —CBS News, 27 Dec. 2025

But such inadvertent collaboration with an authoritarian administration can have a devastating impact on civic and opposition groups as they are simultaneously targeted by the government and shunned by erstwhile supporters. —Steven Levitsky, Foreign Affairs, 11 Dec. 2025

Portis apparently took exception to some inadvertent contact from Sabonis on the previous possession. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 2 Nov. 2025

Microsoft identifies configuration error behind Azure outage Microsoft has issued a new update in its ongoing response to the Azure outage, revealing that an inadvertent configuration change may be the root cause of the disruption. —Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025