accidental

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An accident happens when something goes wrong without being planned or intended.

When we say something was an accident, we usually mean that it wasn't meant to happen. For example, if you spill coffee on your shirt by mistake, that's an accident. You didn't try to spill the coffee; it just happened. If someone trips and falls, that's often an accident too – they weren't trying to fall over. Accidents can also be when something bad happens without being planned, like a fire in a building. In general, we use "accident" when we want to say that something unexpected went wrong.

How common is "accidental"?

Word accidental is considered uncommon in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.

Definitions

adjective

Pertaining to accident and not essence; thus, inessential; incidental; secondary.
(music) Adjusted by one or two semitones, in temporary departure from the key signature.
Occurring sometimes, by chance; occasional.
Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; by accident, unintentional.
Example: The discovery was purely accidental.
(geometry) Being a double point with two distinct tangent planes in 4-dimensional projective space.

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Real examples of "accidental" in context

Adam Scott on the Severance Finale, Fans Thirsting After His Short Hair & Telling His Wife Spoilers

Interview

have you accidentally revealed anything to anyone?

3:38

How Dangerous is a Penny Dropped From a Skyscraper?

Entertainment

Now, this is accidental, but the concept of dropping deadly projectiles on enemies is

18:15

The ENTIRE HISTORY of Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls!