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Accidental

Happening by chance or without deliberate planning; not intended. In music, it is also a noun for a symbol that temporarily alters a pitch.

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine you plan a routine coffee run, but you meet a former classmate by pure chance, and that chance encounter leads to a new collaboration.

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Sounds Like

ak-si-DEN-tl

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Looks Like

Looks like 'accident' + 'al'; the suffix -al signals an adjective form.

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Remember This

Accidental describes events that occur by chance or unintentionally. In music, an accidental is a symbol (sharp, flat, or natural) that temporarily changes a pitch.

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Other Forms

accidentallyadverb

accidentalsnoun

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Connect With

chance, coincidence, fortuitous, incidental

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Note

Do not confuse with 'accident' (a mishap). In everyday use, accidental means unplanned; in music, it refers to a symbol that alters a note's pitch. The adverb form is 'accidentally,' and the plural noun form in music is 'accidentals.'

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Study Deeper

Examples

The discovery was accidental, not the result of a planned experiment.
Their meeting on the subway was accidental, yet it sparked a fruitful collaboration.

Synonyms

unintentionalunplannedincidentalfortuitous

Antonyms

intentionaldeliberateplanned

Etymology

From Latin accident-, from accidēre 'to happen' (ad- 'to' + cadere 'to fall'); via Old French accidentel, meaning 'happening by chance'.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic: A COINCIDENCE CAUSED IT, NOT INTENDED. Remember that accidental means something that happens by chance or is not planned.