accidental
- happening by chance or accident; not planned; unexpected: an accidental meeting.
- nonessential; incidental; subsidiary: accidental benefits.
- Music. relating to or indicating sharps, flats, or naturals.
- a nonessential or subsidiary circumstance, characteristic, or feature.
- Music. a sign placed before a note indicating a chromatic alteration of its pitch.
Origin of accidental
Synonyms for accidental
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Antonyms for accidental
Examples from the Web for accidentally
Contemporary Examples of accidentally
But, Adnan suggest that Jay butt-dialed Nisha by mistake on his phone and accidentally left a two-minute voicemail.
The Scoop on ‘Serial’: Making Sense of The Nisha Call, Asia's Letters, and Our ObsessionEmily Shire
December 11, 2014
Along the way, he accidentally embeds a nail in his foot, which is not symbolic at all.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Crossed’: The Stage Is Now Set for a Bloody, Deadly Midseason FinaleMelissa Leon
November 24, 2014
Hathaway says she discovered that everyone hated her accidentally.
“It was as though she had veered, accidentally, into her own life,” writes Shields elsewhere.
On her first episode live from New York, she accidentally said the f-word.
The Casual Genius of Jenny Slate: ‘Marcel the Shell,’ ‘Obvious Child,’ and the Ghost of ‘SNL’Kevin Fallon
October 17, 2014
Historical Examples of accidentally
He said he was out hunting with a friend, and his friend's gun went off accidentally.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
When accidentally struck by the janitor's broom, he gives off a cloud of dust.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
The eldest of these is accidentally killed by the second, 2440.
BeowulfUnknown
Perhaps we may come upon it accidentally in the course of the play.
Echoes of the WarJ. M. Barrie
I am in no hurry for all, or any of these, but if you accidentally meet with them very-cheap, get them for me.
The Letters of Robert BurnsRobert Burns
accidental
- occurring by chance, unexpectedly, or unintentionally
- nonessential; incidental
- music denoting sharps, flats, or naturals that are not in the key signature of a piece
- logic (of a property) not essential; contingent
- an incidental, nonessential, or supplementary circumstance, factor, or attribute
- music a symbol denoting a sharp, flat, or natural that is not a part of the key signature
Word Origin and History for accidentally
late 14c., "non-essentially," also "unnaturally," from accidental + -ly (2). Meaning "unintentionally" is recorded from 1580s; phrase accidentally on purpose is recorded from 1862.
accidental
late 14c., "non-essential," from Old French accidentel or directly from Medieval Latin accidentalis, from Latin accidentem (see accident). Meaning "outside the normal course of nature" is from early 15c.; that of "coming by chance" is from 1570s.
accidental
late 14c., "non-essential quality," from accidental (adj.). The musical sense is from 1868.