incidentally

adverb

in·​ci·​den·​tal·​ly ˌin(t)-sə-ˈden-tᵊl-ē 

 especially for sense 2  -ˈdent-lē

1

: in an incidental manner : not intentionally

the arrant nonsense of some of his statements is incidentally hilarious

—John Lahr

2

: by way of interjection or digression : by the way

fortunate in having a good teacher … —still living, incidentally

—John Fischer

Synonyms

• apropos
• en passant

Examples of incidentally in a Sentence

Not incidentally, the market slump was followed by widespread layoffs.

incidentally, have you seen the new building they're putting up?

Recent Examples on the Web

Underwood, incidentally, has also joined the lineup of performers for ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, getting the spot just before the Times Square ball drops at midnight. —Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024

Partly this is due to their real-life friendship, with both attending each other’s film premieres in 2023 and continuing to support one other even as they are invariably pitted against each other (even incidentally, as on lists like this one). —Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 3 Dec. 2024

This work incidentally allowed the team to create the photon visualization above. —Michael Irving, New Atlas, 24 Nov. 2024

Other methods parents use include repeating affirmations, and turning to a physical outlet to let off steam—a more popular strategy for parents of boys, incidentally. —Melissa Willets, Parents, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

incidentally

adverb

in·​ci·​den·​tal·​ly ˌin(t)-sə-ˈdent-ᵊl-ē 

 especially for sense 2  -ˈdent-lē

1

: in an incidental manner

discusses the problem only incidentally

2

: apart from that : by the way

a one-room school—still standing, incidentally—which was painted red