incidental

[ in-si-den-tl ]

/ ˌɪn sɪˈdɛn tl /

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See synonyms for: incidental / incidentals on Thesaurus.com

adjective

happening or likely to happen in an unplanned or subordinate conjunction with something else.

incurred casually and in addition to the regular or main amount: incidental expenses.

likely to happen or naturally appertaining (usually followed by to).

noun

something incidental, as a circumstance.

incidentals, minor expenses.

OTHER WORDS FOR incidental

1 casual, chance, fortuitous; contingent.

See synonyms for incidental on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR incidental

1 fundamental.

See antonyms for incidental on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of incidental

First recorded in 1610–20; incident + -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM incidental

in·ci·den·tal·ness, nounnon·in·ci·den·tal, adjectivenon·in·ci·den·tal·ly, adverbun·in·ci·den·tal, adjective

un·in·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH incidental

incidence, incidents, incidental

Words nearby incidental

inch plant, inch-pound, inchworm, incidence, incident, incidental, incidentally, incidental music, incidentaloma, incienso, incinerate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use incidental in a sentence

Medical professionals continue to push back against a body-worn camera video released by the Sheriff’s Department purporting to show a deputy overdosing from incidental contact with fentanyl in a San Marcos parking lot in July.
Morning Report: RIP, These Highway Projects|Voice of San Diego|August 11, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Many breakthrough cases seem to be entirely asymptomatic, only being detected through routine or incidental testing.
COVID cases are plaguing the Olympics even before they’ve begun|Lauren Leffer|July 19, 2021|Popular-Science
It found “incidental deficiencies” that did not merit any fines or corrective action.
A Postal Worker Begged for Stronger COVID-19 Protections. She Ended Up Spending Six Weeks in the Hospital.|by Maryam Jameel|July 16, 2021|ProPublica
By contrast, retailing plays an almost incidental role in “Amazon Unbound.”
How did Amazon grow so fast? By thinking outside the shipping box.|Marc Levinson|May 7, 2021|Washington Post

One incidental benefit of the charter school movement is that it put pressure on traditional public schools – and society as a whole – to do something about it.
The Learning Curve: Eli Broad’s Complicated Ed Reform Legacy|Will Huntsberry|May 6, 2021|Voice of San Diego
Those are troubling numbers, for unfettered speech is not incidental to a flourishing society.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Decorative value is largely incidental to artistic merit as defined by critics.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary Art|Jay Michaelson|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The party the mayor seeks is one in which inequality is the central focus of the platform rather than incidental to it.
DINO Hunters Are Dreaming Hipster Dreams of the DNC in Brooklyn|David Freedlander|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The problem of “incidental impact” arises in many different contexts.
Waiting for the Supreme Court on the Hobby Lobby Decision|Geoffrey R. Stone|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Do not mistake the epic graft in Sochi as unusual or incidental.
Putin’s Sochi and Hitler’s Berlin: The Love Affair Between Dictators and the Olympic Games.|Garry Kasparov|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Casual employment in the Connecticut act means occasional or incidental employment.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
How just is this sentiment, so simply phrased, incidental to the passionate and feverish colour of the painter!
Charles Baudelaire, His Life|Thophile Gautier
For the first time it was no longer disguised from sight by the incidental interest of its side issues.
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century|Charles J. Abbey and John H. Overton
Incidental features of sex hygiene will arise naturally from physical education and can be adequately treated there.
Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents|Oswald Chettle Mazengarb et al.
The painter will do well to look on them as something incidental merely to the picture.
The Painter in Oil|Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst

British Dictionary definitions for incidental

incidental

/ (ˌɪnsɪˈdɛntəl) /

adjective

happening in connection with or resulting from something more important; casual or fortuitous

(postpositive foll by to) found in connection (with); related (to)

(postpositive foll by upon) caused (by)

occasional or minorincidental expenses

noun

(often plural) an incidental or minor expense, event, or action

Derived forms of incidental

incidentalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

incidental

OTHER WORDS FOR incidental

OPPOSITES FOR incidental

Origin of incidental

OTHER WORDS FROM incidental

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH incidental

Words nearby incidental

Words related to incidental

How to use incidental in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for incidental

Derived forms of incidental