accidental
accidental Lexical Profile
accidental Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Happening by chance, unintentionally, or unexpectedly.
"The discovery of penicillin was largely accidental, resulting from a contaminated Petri dish."
Nonessential, subsidiary, or not intrinsic to the true nature of something (especially in philosophy).
"In Aristotelian philosophy, the color of a chair is considered an accidental property rather than part of its essence."
• noun
A sign in musical notation—such as a sharp, flat, or natural—placed before a note to indicate a temporary alteration of pitch that is not part of the prevailing key signature.
"The pianist carefully marked every accidental in the complex chromatic passage before rehearsal."
A bird or other animal appearing far outside its normal geographic range or migratory path.
"Birdwatchers flocked to the coastal marsh after a rare Siberian accidental was spotted there."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Accidental' is often confused with 'incidental'; 'accidental' means happening by chance or without intention, whereas 'incidental' means occurring as a minor or secondary accompaniment to something else.
• Rhymes for accidental
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French 'accidentel' and Medieval Latin 'accidentalis', derived from Latin 'accidens', the present participle of 'accidere' ('to happen or fall upon'), formed from 'ad-' ('to') and 'cadere' ('to fall').