1
as in chance
happening by chance
finding the gold was all the more remarkable because its discovery was entirely accidental
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irrelevant
not being a vital part of or belonging to something
we're considering the painting's merit as a work of art, its commercial value being entirely accidental as far as we're concerned
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of accidental
There’s also a safety lock and guarded trigger that eliminates accidental starts, keeping you safer.
—
Christopher Murray, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2025
The country just saw a similar scenario play out in a far higher-stakes setting, with the accidental inclusion of the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in a discussion over messaging app Signal between many of President Donald Trump’s top administration officials.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2025
In an accidental leak, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in a chat among top security officials on secret war plans.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025
One of the interesting parts of Chang’s book is his first encounters with life in the U.S., including his amazement at so many offerings in supermarkets, his accidental visit to a gay bar, and the inclusion of fortune cookies in Chinese restaurant meals, unheard of in his native country.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accidental
Christopher Murray, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2025
The country just saw a similar scenario play out in a far higher-stakes setting, with the accidental inclusion of the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic in a discussion over messaging app Signal between many of President Donald Trump’s top administration officials.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2025
In an accidental leak, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in a chat among top security officials on secret war plans.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025
One of the interesting parts of Chang’s book is his first encounters with life in the U.S., including his amazement at so many offerings in supermarkets, his accidental visit to a gay bar, and the inclusion of fortune cookies in Chinese restaurant meals, unheard of in his native country.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for accidental
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accidental
Adjective
-
The weather’s getting warmer in Montreal, playoff weather, a time of year this group is used to looking for external, irrelevant sources of motivation to play out the string.—
Arpon Basu,
The Athletic,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Too long to weed through red herrings and convolutions in the mystery that eventually border on irrelevant.—
Daniel Fienberg,
The Hollywood Reporter,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The White House has dismissed the episode as a minor mistake and top congressional Republicans seemed ready to chalk it up as an inadvertent mix-up, but Democrats were in no mood to do so.—
Carl Hulse,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Apparently, an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Brexit arrived at a moment when internal and external perceptions of the domestic Irish game were beginning to shift.—
Michael Walker,
The Athletic,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Bhutan’s ministry of foreign affairs and external trade did not return a request for comment on what the country could be asked to do to satisfy U.S. immigration officials − to get off the Trump administration list.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA TODAY,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
In 2002, Amazon required every executive to master an unexpected skill: writing press releases for products that didn’t yet exist.—
Daniel Lotzof,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
JuJu Watkins is receiving love from unexpected places.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The patchy and adventitious quality of Jameson’s reconstruction must make clear his difference as a thinker.—
Mark Greif,
Harper's Magazine,
26 July 2024
-
The cut appears to have been high enough that the stump should still have enough adventitious buds to regrow.—
Jonathan Edwards,
Washington Post,
3 Oct. 2023
Adjective
-
The phones simultaneously reflecting the sun rising behind Moreno on stage created an additional unintentional effect.—
Courtney Devores,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Each earpiece also has press controls that prevent the unintentional triggering often experienced with touch controls.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
And that is not something extrinsic, imposed by regulation or taxation, but inherent to the way the company conceives of itself, its ownership structure, its governance, its performance metrics, its finances — everything.—
IESE Business School,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
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Those sensors detect the subtle vibrations that are transmitted to the extrinsic laryngeal muscles (in the neck) from other anatomical locations including the velum, oropharynx, tongue, and epiglottis.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Both seem incidental to his 47% Hard Hits for the past five years.—
Gene McCaffrey,
The Athletic,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Anyone finding themselves attracted to him was otherwise incidental.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Accidental.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accidental. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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