accidentally

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English accidental

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English accidentally

From accidental + -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæk.sɪˈdɛnt(ə)li/, enPR: ăk-sĭ-dĕntʹ(ə)lē

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

accidentally (comparative more accidentally, superlative most accidentally)

1. In an accidental manner; by chance, unexpectedly.

   Synonyms: casually, fortuitously; see also Thesaurus:accidentally

   He discovered penicillin largely accidentally.

   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:accidentally.
2. Unintentionally.

   He accidentally exposed the bacteria to mold spores.

   • 1899, Knut Hamsun, “Part I”, in George Egerton [pseudonym; Mary Chavelita Dunne Bright], transl., Hunger […], London: Leonard Smithers and Co […], →OCLC, page 15:

     As I arrived at the foot of the hill I overtook two ladies, whom I passed. As I did so, I brushed one of them accidently on the arm.

   • 2011 December 14, Steven Morris, “Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     Robins, of Torquay, had denied a single charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She claimed the microwave was accidentally turned on by one of the cats after the kitten got inside. But Knutton said the kitten was too small to even get onto the work surface.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:accidentally.

Alternative forms

• accidently (now nonstandard)

Antonyms

• intentionally, deliberately, designedly, on purpose, purposely, advisedly, by choice, by design

Derived terms

• accidentally on purpose

Related terms

• accident

Translations

happening by chance, not necessarily a lucky one

• Armenian: պատահաբար (hy) (patahabar), պատահականորեն (hy) (patahakanoren)
• Bulgarian: случайно (bg) (slučajno)
• Georgian: შემთხვევით (šemtxvevit)
• German: zufällig (de), durch Zufall
• Irish: de thimpiste, de thaisme
• Old English: wēas
• Turkish: kazara (tr), kazaen (tr), ezkaza (tr), yanlışlıkla (tr)
• Woiwurrung: ngabenden-ngain'gi

unexpectedly

• Armenian: ոչ դիտավորյալ (očʻ ditavoryal), ակամա (hy) (akama)
• Belarusian: выпадко́ва (vypadkóva)
• Bulgarian: случа́йно (bg) (slučájno)
• Burmese: မတော်တဆ (my) (ma.tauta.hca.)
• Catalan: accidentalment (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 偶然 (zh) (ǒurán)

• Czech: náhodou (cs)
• Danish: tilfældigvis
• Dutch: toevallig (nl)
• Esperanto: akcidente
• Finnish: vahingossa (fi), sattumalta (fi)
• French: accidentellement (fr)
• Georgian: მოულოდნელად (moulodnelad), უნებლიეთ (unebliet)
• German: aus Versehen, versehentlich (de), unabsichtlich (de), unbeabsichtigt (de)
• Greek: κατά λάθος (el) (katá láthos, literally “by mistake”)
• Hebrew: במקרה (b'miqré), לא בכוונה (lo' b'khavaná)
• Icelandic: óvart (is)
• Indonesian: secara tak sengaja, tanpa disadari, secara kebetulan
• Interlingua: accidentalmente
• Irish: de thimpiste, de thaisme, trí thionóisc
• Italian: casualmente (it), accidentalmente (it)
• Japanese: 無意識的に (ja) (むいしきてきに, muishikiteki ni), 偶然 (ja) (ぐうぜん, gūzen), 誤って (あやまって, ayamatte)
• Korean: 우연히도 (uyeonhido)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: temere (la), fortuītō, casū (la)
• Latvian: nejauši
• Macedonian: случајно (slučajno)
• Polish: przypadkowo (pl)
• Portuguese: acidentalmente (pt)
• Romanian: accidental (ro), întâmplător (ro)
• Russian: случа́йно (ru) (slučájno), ненаме́ренно (ru) (nenamérenno)
• Slovak: náhodne, náhodou
• Spanish: accidentalmente (es), sin querer (es)
• Swedish: oavsiktligen (sv) (unintentionally)
• Telugu: పొరపాటున (porapāṭuna)
• Thai: โดยไม่ตั้งใจ (doi mâi dtâng jai), เผลอ (th) (plə̌ə)
• Ukrainian: випадко́во (vypadkóvo)
• Urdu: غلطی (ġalatī), غلطی سے (ġalatī sē)
• Vietnamese: ngẫu nhiên (vi)

unintentionally — see unintentionally