accidental


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accidental
left to right: G natural, G flat, G sharp

ac·ci·den·tal

 (ăk′sĭ-dĕn′tl)
adj.
1. Occurring unexpectedly, unintentionally, or by chance.
2. Music Of or relating to an accidental.
3. Being an animal, especially a bird, that has strayed beyond its normal range.
n.
1. A property, factor, or attribute that is not essential.
2. Music
a. Any of various signs that indicate the alteration of a note by one or two semitones or the cancellation of a previous sign.
b. A note that has been marked with such a sign.
3. An animal that has strayed beyond its normal range.

ac′ci·den′tal·ly, ac′ci·dent′ly adv.
Synonyms: accidental, fortuitous, contingent, incidental
These adjectives apply to what happens unintentionally. Accidental primarily refers to what occurs by chance: an accidental meeting.
It can also mean subordinate or nonessential: "Poetry is something to which words are the accidental, not by any means the essential form" (Frederick W. Robertson).
Fortuitous stresses chance even more strongly: "the happy combination of fortuitous circumstances" (Sir Walter Scott).
Contingent describes what is possible but uncertain because of unforeseen or uncontrollable factors: "The results of confession were not contingent, they were certain" (George Eliot).
Incidental refers to a minor or unanticipated result or accompaniment: "There is scarcely any practice which is so corrupt as not to produce some incidental good" (Enoch Mellor).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

accidental

(ˌæksɪˈdɛntəl)
adj
1. occurring by chance, unexpectedly, or unintentionally
2. nonessential; incidental
3. (Classical Music) music denoting sharps, flats, or naturals that are not in the key signature of a piece
4. (Logic) logic (of a property) not essential; contingent
n
5. an incidental, nonessential, or supplementary circumstance, factor, or attribute
6. (Classical Music) music a symbol denoting a sharp, flat, or natural that is not a part of the key signature
ˌacciˈdentally adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ac•ci•den•tal

(ˌæk sɪˈdɛn tl)

adj.
1. happening by chance or accident.
2. nonessential; incidental: accidental benefits.
3. pertaining to or indicating sharps, flats, or naturals in music.
n.
4. a nonessential or subsidiary circumstance or feature.
5. a sign placed before a note indicating a chromatic alteration of its pitch.
[1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin]
ac`ci•den′tal•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.accidental - a musical notation that makes a note sharp or flat or natural although that is not part of the key signatureaccidental - a musical notation that makes a note sharp or flat or natural although that is not part of the key signature
musical notation - (music) notation used by musicians
Adj.1.accidental - happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally ; "with an inadvertent gesture she swept the vase off the table"; "accidental poisoning"; "an accidental shooting"
unintended - not deliberate
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

accidental

adjective
2. chance, random, casual, unintentional, unintended, unplanned, fortuitous, inadvertent, serendipitous, unlooked-for, uncalculated, contingent His hand brushed against hers; it could have been accidental.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

accidental

adjective
Occurring unexpectedly:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
عرضيعَرَضِي، بِالصُّدْفَه
náhodný
hændeligtilfældig
sattumanvarainen
slučajan
tilviljunarkenndur
偶然の
우연의
naključen
oavsiktlig
เป็นเหตุบังเอิญ
kaza sonucutesadüfi
tai nạn

accidental

[ˌæksɪˈdentl]
A. ADJ
1. (= by chance) → casual, fortuito
accidental deathmuerte f por accidente
2. (= unintentional) → imprevisto
I didn't do it deliberately, it was accidentalno lo hice adrede, fue sin querer
B. N (Mus) → accidente m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

accidental

[ˌæksɪˈdɛntəl] adj
(= by accident) [injury, fall, fire, damage] → accidentel(le) accidental death
(= chance) [meeting, discovery] → accidentel/elle m/faccidental death n (LAW)mort f accidentelle
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

accidental

adj
(= unplanned) meeting, benefitzufällig; (= unintentional) blow, shootingversehentlich; one of the accidental effects of this scheme was …eine der Wirkungen, die dieser Plan unbeabsichtigterweise mit sich brachte, war …
(= resulting from accident) injury, deathdurch Unfall; accidental damage (Insur) → Unfallschaden m
n (Mus) (= sign)Versetzungszeichen nt, → Akzidentale f (form); (= note)erhöhter/erniedrigter Ton
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

accidental

[ˌæksɪˈdɛntl] adj (by chance) → accidentale, fortuito/a, casuale; (unintentional) → involontario/a
accidental death → morte f accidentale
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

accident

(ˈӕksidənt) noun
1. an unexpected happening, often harmful, causing injury etc. There has been a road accident.
2. chance. I met her by accident.
ˌacciˈdental (-ˈden-) adjective
happening by chance or accident. an accidental discovery.
ˌacciˈdentally (-ˈden-) adverb
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

accidental

عرضي náhodný hændelig unbeabsichtigt τυχαίος accidental sattumanvarainen accidentel slučajan accidentale 偶然の 우연의 toevallig tilfeldig przypadkowy acidental случайный oavsiktlig เป็นเหตุบังเอิญ kaza sonucu tai nạn 偶然的
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

accidental

a. accidental, inesperado-a, casual.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

accidental

adj accidental; — death muerte f accidental
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in classic literature ?
This is the truth, and I hold by it; but at the same time it is a phenomenon which has not been repeated at any other time or place; and therefore, though I hold to it as a fact, yet I recognize that it is an accidental phenomenon, and may likely enough pass away.
He read how the Arla's whale boat had been bushwhacked at Su'u and had lost three men; of how the skipper discovered the cook stewing human flesh on the galley fire--flesh purchased by the boat's crew ashore in Fui; of how an accidental discharge of dynamite, while signaling, had killed another boat's crew; of night attacks; ports fled from between the dawns; attacks by bushmen in mangrove swamps and by fleets of salt-water men in the larger passages.
We of the oyster boats waited until we had disposed of our cargoes before we got really started, though a scattering of drinks and a meeting of a chance friend sometimes precipitated an accidental drunk.
It is very important to my present object that we should become acquainted with each other -- as the purely accidental result of our being near neighbors.
It must be admitted that there are exceptions to this rule; but these exceptions depend so entirely on accidental causes, that they cannot be considered as having any relation to the intrinsic merits or demerits of a constitution.
So far, therefore, as either designed or accidental violations of treaties and the laws of nations afford JUST causes of war, they are less to be apprehended under one general government than under several lesser ones, and in that respect the former most favors the SAFETY of the people.
Within the art of poetry itself there are two kinds of faults, those which touch its essence, and those which are accidental. If a poet has chosen to imitate something, through want of capacity, the error is inherent in the poetry.
But the chief point was that all this was, as it were, not accidental in me, but as though it were bound to be so.
Bingley had not been or age two years, when he was tempted by an accidental recommendation to look at Netherfield House.
Yet such is human inconsistency that one of the interests of the new place to her was the accidental virtues of its lying near her forefathers' country (for they were not Blakemore men, though her mother was Blakemore to the bone).
He cast down his eyes and hurried out as if it were none of his business, careful as he went not to inflict any accidental injury on the young lady.
"I am hoping to hear," the latter concluded, with some slight asperity in his manner, "that the circumstance to which I have alluded was accidental and will not be repeated."