It means happening by accident or happening as an accident, as in an accidental discovery and an accidental injury. Happening or existing by chance A sign showing that there is a temporary change from the… Happening by chance or accident See examples of accidental used in a sentence. Accidental primarily refers to what occurs by chance
It can also mean subordinate or nonessential Poetry is something to which words are the accidental, not by any means the essential form (frederick w An accidental event happens by chance or as the result of an accident, and is not deliberately intended The jury returned a verdict of accidental death His hand brushed against hers It could have been either accidental or deliberate.
Definition of accidental adjective in oxford advanced learner's dictionary Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Accidental (comparative more accidental, superlative most accidental) pertaining to accident and not essence [from 14th c.] hyponym hyponym Instantial (philosophy) nonessential to something's inherent nature (especially in aristotelian thought) [from 14th c.] (music) adjusted by one or two semitones, in temporary departure from the key signature.
People don't mean to do accidental things An accident is something unforeseen that no one wanted to happen, like a car accident or getting hit by lightning You can describe anything like that as accidental Bumping into a stranger could be accidental Forgetting to pay a bill is accidental. Accidental is both an adjective and a noun that refers to something that happens unexpectedly, unintentionally, or by chance
Some common synonyms of accidental are casual, contingent, and fortuitous While all these words mean not amenable to planning or prediction, accidental stresses chance.
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