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accidental definition

ac·ci·den·tal (ak′sə dent′'l)

adjective

  1. happening by chance; fortuitous
  2. belonging but not essential; attributive; incidental
  3. Music of an accidental

Etymology: ME < LL accidentalis: see accident

noun

  1. a nonessential quality or feature
  2. Music
    1. a sign, as a sharp, flat, or natural, placed before a note to show a change of pitch from that indicated by the key signature
    2. the tone indicated by such a sign

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

accidental Synonyms

accidental

modif.

  1. Happening by chance

    chance, fortuitous, coincidental, unintentional, inadvertent, unplanned, unpremeditated, undesigned, unwitting, uncalculated, unintended, unanticipated, unforeseen, unexpected, casual, adventitious, random, haphazard, involuntary, lucky, unlucky, serendipitous, fluky*; see also unexpected.

  2. Incidental

    incidental, secondary, nonessential, adventitious; see subordinate, under 3.

accidental describes that which occurs by chance an accidental encounter or outside the normal course of events an accidental attribute; fortuitous, which frequently suggests a complete absence of cause, now usually refers to chance events of a fortunate nature; casual describes the unpremeditated, random, or irregular quality of something a casual remark, a casual visit or its informality casual clothes; incidental emphasizes the nonessential or secondary nature of something incidental expenses; adventitious refers to that which is added extrinsically and connotes a lack of essential connection


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

accidental Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • prevent: Put a lock on the toilet to prevent accidental drowning; toddlers can drown in a few inches of water.

Adjective modifier

  • cautionary: Editorial cautionary accidentals are given within round brackets; cautionary accidentals included in the source are reproduced without brackets.

Modifies a noun

  • spillage: Protect work surfaces and your clothes in case of accidental spillage.

Modifying Another Word

  • purely: Is it all part of a divine plan, or is our being here a purely accidental assemblage of atoms?

Noun used with modifier

  • nothing: With respect to His prescience, there is nothing contingent; with respect to His providence, there is nothing accidental.

Used with adjective complement

  • prevent: Always run cold water before the hot to prevent accidental scalding.
accidental usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"accidental." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/accidental>

APA Style

accidental. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/accidental

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