coincidental

[koh-in-si-den-tl]

adjective

1. happening by or resulting from coincidence; by chance.

   a coincidental meeting.

2. existing or occurring at the same time.

coincidental

/ kəʊˌɪnsɪˈdɛntəl /

adjective

1. of or happening by a coincidence; fortuitous

Other Word Forms

• coincidentally adverb
• coincidently adverb
• noncoincidental adjective
• noncoincidentally adverb
• uncoincidental adjective
• uncoincidentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of coincidental¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; coincident + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Those two tendencies are, of course, not independent or purely coincidental.

From Salon

Maybe it was coincidental, but with Kildunne in the line-up, there was also a touch more swagger to England as well.

From BBC

Figuring out whether the timing was coincidental or an indication that the vaccines caused the problem has been a huge challenge.

From Salon

Newsom’s mention of the infamous Dominion Voting Systems defamation case was not coincidental.

From Salon

All coincidental, considering scripts are written long before the final product debuts.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• circumstantial 
• fortuitous 
• incidental 
• unintentional