accidentally

Everyday

Accidentally means by accident, not on purpose, without meaning to. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and manners, saying you did something accidentally explains it was not on purpose, but you still say sorry and help fix it. In safety lessons, many injuries happen accidentally, like swallowing something or falling, so we take care. In stories, a character accidentally finds a secret or breaks something. Opposites: on purpose, deliberately, intentionally.

Examples

• I accidentally knocked over the paint. tree →
• She accidentally deleted her work. tree →
• Sorry, I accidentally stood on your foot. tree →
• He accidentally locked himself out. tree →
• The dog accidentally ate a sock. tree →
• They accidentally found an old map. tree →
• Small children can accidentally swallow button batteries. tree →
• I didn't do it on purpose; it happened accidentally. tree →
• One evening, as he wandered through the suburbs with his whole attention fixed on the sky, he fell accidentally into a deep well. tree →

Note

Spelling trap: accidentally ends in -ally (accident + al + ly), not «accidently». Opposite: deliberately, on purpose.