accidentally
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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).
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.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Adv. | 1. |  accidentally - without advance planning; "they met accidentally"advisedly, by choice, by design, deliberately, designedly, intentionally, on purpose, purposely - with intention; in an intentional manner; "he used that word intentionally"; "I did this by choice" |
| 2. | accidentally - of a minor or subordinate nature; "these magnificent achievements were only incidentally influenced by Oriental models" | |
| 3. |  accidentally - without intention; in an unintentional manner; "she hit him unintentionally"advisedly, by choice, by design, deliberately, designedly, intentionally, on purpose, purposely - with intention; in an intentional manner; "he used that word intentionally"; "I did this by choice" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
accidentally
adverb unintentionally, casually, unexpectedly, incidentally, by accident, by chance, inadvertently, unwittingly, randomly, unconsciously, by mistake, haphazardly, fortuitously, adventitiously The door cannot be opened accidentally.
deliberately, consciously, on purpose, wilfully, by design, designedly
deliberately, consciously, on purpose, wilfully, by design, designedly
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
بالصُدْفَةعَرَضَاً، صُدْفَة
náhodně
ved et tilfælde
vahingossaepähuomiossasattumalta
במקרהלא בכוונה
slučajno
af slysni, fyrir tilviljun
偶然に
우연히
nehote
av en händelse
โดยบังเอิญ
một cách tình cờ
accidentally
[ˌæksɪˈdentəlɪ] ADV2. (= unintentionally) → sin querer, involuntariamente
he was accidentally killed → fue muerto por accidente
the liquids were accidentally mixed → los líquidos se mezclaron por descuido
accidentally on purpose → sin querer y no tan sin querer
he was accidentally killed → fue muerto por accidente
the liquids were accidentally mixed → los líquidos se mezclaron por descuido
accidentally on purpose → sin querer y no tan sin querer
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
accidentally
[ˌæksɪˈdɛntəli] adv (= by accident) → accidentellement
(= by chance) [meet, discover] → accidentellement, par hasardaccident and emergency accident and emergency department (British) n → service m des urgences, urgences fplaccident blackspot [ˈblækspɒt] n → point m noiraccident insurance n → assurance f accidentsaccident prone accident-prone [ˈæksɪdəntprəʊn] adj → sujet(te) aux accidents
He's very accident-prone
BUT Il lui arrive toujours des malheurs.
He's very accident-prone
BUT Il lui arrive toujours des malheurs.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
accidentally
adv (= by chance) → zufällig; (= unintentionally) → versehentlich; accidentally on purpose (hum) → versehentlich-absichtlich (hum)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
accidentally
[ˌæksɪˈdɛntəlɪ] adv (by chance) → per caso; (unintentionally) → senza volere, inavvertitamenteaccidentally on purpose (fam) → di proposito, ma senza darlo a vedere
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
accident
(ˈӕksidənt) noun1. 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-) adverbKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
accidentally
→ بالصُدْفَة náhodně ved et tilfælde versehentlich τυχαία accidentalmente vahingossa accidentellement slučajno accidentalmente 偶然に 우연히 toevallig ved et uhell przypadkowo acidentalmente случайно av en händelse โดยบังเอิญ kazara một cách tình cờ 偶然地Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009