accidental
/,æksi'dentl/
Definition
Adjective:
- Happening by chance or unexpectedly; not planned or intended: Refers to an event or outcome that occurs without deliberate action or foresight.
- Incidental; secondary; not essential: Describes something that is minor, supplementary, or not part of the main purpose or nature of something.
Noun:
- (Music) A sign placed before a note to raise or lower its pitch: A symbol (sharp ♯, flat ♭, or natural ♮) that temporarily alters the pitch of a note from what is indicated by the key signature.
Examples of Usage
Adjective:
- The fire was purely accidental; no one meant for it to happen.
- He made an accidental discovery while cleaning the old laboratory.
- The beauty of the pattern was accidental, not designed.
Noun:
- The pianist added an accidental to the score, changing the F to an F-sharp.
- In this measure, you need to play the note with the accidental, not the key signature.
Advanced Usage
"accidental to something": incidental or secondary to the main thing.
- The financial gain was accidental to his main goal of helping the community.
In philosophy/logic: Pertaining to a non-essential attribute.
- In Aristotelian terms, color is an accidental property of an object, not part of its essence.
Variants and Related Words
Accidentally (adverb): In an accidental manner; by chance.
- She accidentally deleted the important file.
Accidentalness (noun, rare): The quality of being accidental.
Synonyms
- Adjective: Unintentional, fortuitous, chance, inadvertent, incidental, serendipitous.
- Noun (Music): Alteration sign, chromatic sign.
Antonyms
- Adjective: Intentional, deliberate, planned, essential, inherent.
Related Phrases/Idioms
A happy accident: An accidental event that has a beneficial or positive outcome.
- The invention of penicillin was a happy accident.
By accident: By chance; unintentionally.
- I found the old letters by accident while moving.
Adjective
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happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally
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with an inadvertent gesture she swept the vase off the table
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accidental poisoning
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an accidental shooting
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Noun
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a musical notation that makes a note sharp or flat or natural although that is not part of the key signature
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