Yahoo Web Search

Search results

1. Dictionary

   Ac·ci·den·tal

   /ˌaksəˈden(t)l/

   

   adjective

   • 1. happening by chance, unintentionally, or unexpectedly: "a verdict of accidental death" Similar fortuitouschanceoccurring by chance/accidentadventitiousflukycoincidentalcasualserendipitousrandomaleatoryunexpectedunforeseenunanticipatedunlooked-forunintentionalunintendedinadvertentinvoluntaryunplannedunpremeditatedunthinkingunmeantunwittingunknowingunconscioussubconsciousmistakenmisguidedOpposite intentionalplanned
   • 2. incidental; subsidiary: "the location is accidental and contributes nothing to the tension between the characters in the poem" Similar incidentalunimportantby the wayby the bysupplementarysubsidiarysubordinatesecondarymarginalminorlesseraccessoryperipheraltangentialextraneousextrinsicparentheticalirrelevantimmaterialbeside the pointof little accountunnecessarynonessentialinessentialOpposite essentialcentral
   • 3. (in Aristotelian thought) relating to or denoting properties which are not essential to a thing's nature.

   noun

   • 1. a sign indicating a momentary departure from the key signature by raising or lowering a note: "horn parts are usually written without key signature, the necessary accidentals being added"
   • 2. another term for vagrant

   Word Origin late Middle English (in accidental (sense 2 of the adjective and sense 3 of the adjective)): from late Latin accidentalis, from Latin accident- ‘happening’ (see accident).

   Scrabble Points: 15

   • A

     1

   • C

     3

   • C

     3

   • I

     1

   • D

     2

   • E

     1

   • N

     1

   • T

     1

   • A

     1

   • L

     1

   Powered by Oxford Languages

   More Definitions, Word Origin & ScrabbleShow less