ac ‧ ci ‧ den ‧ tal /ˌæksəˈdentl◂, ˌæksɪˈdentl◂/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ accident ; adverb : ↑ accidentally ; adjective : ↑ accidental ]
happening without being planned or intended OPP deliberate :
an accidental discharge of toxic waste
Buy an insurance policy that covers accidental damage.
—accidentally adverb :
I accidentally locked myself out of the house.
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THESAURUS
■ words meaning accidentally
▪ accidentally/by accident in a way that was not planned or intended:
He accidentally shot his friend.
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Fleming discovered the drug by accident, when he was researching something else.
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I met the man purely by accident, and we began a conversation.
▪ by mistake if you do something by mistake, you intend to do one thing, but you accidentally do something else instead:
Michelle must have picked up my keys by mistake.
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Gary wandered into the wrong hotel room by mistake.
▪ be an accident if you say that something was an accident, you mean that you are sorry it happened, but it was not done deliberately:
Marris told the police the killing was an accident.
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Don’t blame yourself – it was an accident.
▪ unintentionally if you do something unintentionally, especially something bad, you do it even though you do not intend to do it:
Teachers often unintentionally favour certain students.
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Several scenes in the movie are unintentionally funny.
▪ inadvertently if you inadvertently do something, you do it without realizing you are doing it, because you are not careful enough:
In a panic, I inadvertently pushed the accelerator instead of the brake.
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The Finance Minister inadvertently revealed budget secrets to reporters.