Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective accidental differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of accidental are casual, contingent, and fortuitous. While all these words mean "not amenable to planning or prediction," accidental stresses chance.

any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental

When might casual be a better fit than accidental?

In some situations, the words casual and accidental are roughly equivalent. However, casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent.

a casual encounter with a stranger

When is it sensible to use contingent instead of accidental?

While in some cases nearly identical to accidental, contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence.

the contingent effects of the proposed law

When can fortuitous be used instead of accidental?

While the synonyms fortuitous and accidental are close in meaning, fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause.

a series of fortuitous events

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of accidental American Idol contestant Doug Kiker died of an accidental overdose, the Denver Medical Examiner confimed Thursday (April 17). Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 17 Apr. 2025 Landeskog did not play in a hockey game for 1,020 days because of issues with his right knee stemming from an accidental skate cut just above the knee in Edmonton during the completion of the 2019-20 season. Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2025 Plus, it’s got a rubber base to absorb accidental nudges, a possible issue due to its slightly top-heavy design. Adam Campbell-Schmitt, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025 Wang was eager to develop the accidental discovery into a full theory of this third kind of particle. Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for accidental
Recent Examples of Synonyms for accidental
Adjective
  • For the purposes of this discussion, the cause of sea level rise is irrelevant.
    Rob Young, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Tony Gilroy’s masterful series is so good that the sci-fi Star Wars of it all sometimes seems irrelevant compared to the nuanced takes on resistance and fascism.
    James Grebey, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Defendant referred to victim in past tense, detective testifies Cousins’ status as a possible suspect was strengthened by his inadvertent language missteps in his first interview with a Fort Worth Police Department Homicide Unit detective, the jury learned on Tuesday.
    Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Skinner has been out of commission since getting an inadvertent knee in the head from the Dallas Stars’ Mikko Rantanen on March 26.
    Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Prior to Joyce, Lisa Cummins, the minister of energy and business development in Barbados, spoke movingly about how her small island nation was being buffeted by external forces.
    Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • The only reason there’s a handful of options for Day 3 is because many of their guys at the end of the depth chart are external vets and the Cowboys could try to replace them with homegrown talents.
    Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Aaron Rodgers clearly enjoys holding the NFL hostage: The NFL’s lamest offseason storyline had a new – but not unexpected – twist Thursday when Aaron Rodgers had thoughts on the New York Jets and new head coach Aaron Glenn.
    Jim Reineking, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Friends are stunned when unexpected companions join them on safari.
    FOXNews.com, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Lauren Heller Since Sagittarians are willing to try anything once, the Fire sign resembles Lauren's adventitious persona.
    Lisa Stardust, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • These new regulations are meant to reduce the chances of intentional or unintentional targeting of white sharks, which not only harms the animals but also increases public safety risks.
    Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Swear words uttered under such circumstances are usually unintentional.
    David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This refers to a call spread where the in-the-money call has the same extrinsic value as the out-of-the-money call.
    Michael Khouw, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • As a result, the county worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get an incidental take permit.
    Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Overfishing — whether targeted or incidental — is their biggest threat, with many caught unintentionally and discarded as bycatch.
    Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Accidental.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/accidental. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on accidental

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