Word for when something happens by chance

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

/ ˌæk sɪˈdɛn tl /

happening by chance or accident; not planned; unexpected: an accidental meeting.

nonessential; incidental; subsidiary: accidental benefits.

Music. relating to or indicating sharps, flats, or naturals.

a nonessential or subsidiary circumstance, characteristic, or feature.

Music. a sign placed before a note indicating a chromatic alteration of its pitch.

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First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word accidentālis.See accident, -al1

1. Accidental, casual, fortuitous all describe something outside the usual course of events. Accidental implies occurring unexpectedly or by chance: an accidental blow. Casual describes a passing event of slight importance: a casual reference. Fortuitous is applied to events occurring without known cause, often of a fortunate or favorable nature: a fortuitous shower of meteors. It often also implies good luck or good fortune: a fortuitous choice leading to rapid advancement.

ac·ci·den·tal·ly, ac·ci·dent·ly, adverbac·ci·den·tal·ness, ac·ci·den·tal·i·ty, nounnon·ac·ci·den·tal, adjective, nounnon·ac·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

non·ac·ci·den·tal·ness, nounpre·ac·ci·den·tal, adjectivepre·ac·ci·den·tal·ly, adverbpseu·do·ac·ci·den·tal, adjectivepseu·do·ac·ci·den·tal·ly, adverbqua·si-ac·ci·den·tal, adjectivequa·si-ac·ci·den·tal·ly, adverbun·ac·ci·den·tal, adjectiveun·ac·ci·den·tal·ly, adverb

access time, accessway, acciaccatura, accidence, accident, accidental, accidental death benefit, accidental hypothermia, accidentalism, accidentally on purpose, accident boat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Accidental describes something that happens by chance or without planning, as in The hero has an accidental meeting with the villain early in the movie that sets the hero on his course.

Accidental can also sometimes refer to something that comes about by chance.

Example: We had to sign a contract saying we are aware of the possibility of accidental injury.

The first records of the term accidental come from around 1350. It ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin accidentālis. Accident refers to something that happens by chance, often something negative. Adding the suffix –al creates a term that can be used to describe something that happens by chance.

Accidental can also mean nonessential or subsidiary. An example of this is to describe an unexpected benefit you receive, such as your office being near a restaurant you enjoy or when a product you buy comes with extra parts. Those with a musical ear will know that an accidental is a marking on sheet music that indicates whether a note should be played as a sharp, natural, or flat.

Accidental is more often used to discuss something negative, like crashes.

I hate taking accidental naps I just sat down and knocked. I woke up and I’m still just as tired as before except now I’m sweaty and I have bed head

— Ethan Dolan (@EthanDolan) September 19, 2018

Every iPhone X/XS owner has taken a minimum of 10 accidental screenshots thanks to the phone’s button placement. It’s just part of the experience.

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) February 15, 2019

Made accidental eye contact with the very old man next to me and his response was “take a pic it’ll last longer”. If you need me I’ll be in the burn unit after getting roasted by an 80+ year old.

— SARAYA (@RealPaigeWWE) March 1, 2020

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for accidental?

A. unforeseen B. deliberate C. unintentional

D. chance

coincidental, inadvertent, incidental, random, unexpected, unforeseen, unintended, unintentional, unplanned, chance, contingent, adventitious, casual, fluky, fortuitous, uncalculated

You have no idea which elements were due to your innate talent and which were accidental.
That was followed by a report that roughly 30 percent of college athletes who've contracted the virus end up with inflammation of the heart muscle, called myocarditis—a number that ESPN is now saying is an accidental exaggeration.
If you manage sites with licensable images, this tag can help communicate the licensing details to potential customers, reduce accidental image theft and increase revenues for your images.
So when he died in December 2019, at age 21, after a seizure from an accidental overdose of oxycodone and codeine, it crushed people everywhere.

Researchers cannot ethically alter human prenatal hormone levels, so they rely on “accidental experiments” in which prenatal hormone levels or responses to them were unusual, such as with intersex people.
This is kind of an accidental career for me—which is why I approach it with irreverence and playfulness.
Whatever irregularities occurred were accidental and insignificant.
In 1978, Scott Newman, his 28-year-old son, died of an accidental drug and alcohol overdose.
An accidental mix-up of measles vaccine and a common muscle relaxer killed at least 15 Syrian children, and possibly many more.
Around two thirds of these accidental deaths happened in the home or vehicle of the family, with mostly unsecured guns.
No accidental relations of parts of names is resorted to, as was done in the case of the American Presidents.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Christianity owed its magnificent opportunities (which it has wasted) to several accidental circumstances.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
In the meantime, Colonel Fry had died suddenly from an accidental fall, and Washington had succeeded to the command.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
A statesman's life is the life for me; behold Mr. Devenish, the new M.P.—no, look here, that was quite accidental.
According to him, literature ought to be intentional, and the accidental restrained as much as possible.
Charles Baudelaire, His Life|Thophile Gautier

British Dictionary definitions for accidental

occurring by chance, unexpectedly, or unintentionally

music denoting sharps, flats, or naturals that are not in the key signature of a piece

logic (of a property) not essential; contingent

an incidental, nonessential, or supplementary circumstance, factor, or attribute

music a symbol denoting a sharp, flat, or natural that is not a part of the key signature

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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