accidentally
adverb
ac·ci·dent·al·ly
ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē 
-ˈden-tᵊl-ē
-ˈden-tᵊl-ē
: in an accidental or unintended manner : by accident
I accidentally deleted the file.
The lock prevents the gate from opening accidentally.
Six lionfish were accidentally released from a home aquarium in Biscayne Bay, Fla., during Hurricane Andrew in 1992.—
Alcestis Cooky Oberg
Alcestis Cooky ObergThe Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.—Christie Aschwanden
Christie AschwandenHe bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]
Examples of accidentally in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This magical holiday romance centers on our protagonist Kathy, a grieving widow who accidentally brings a snowman (named Jack) to life during her small town’s snowman-building competition.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
Viewers will recall that Arch has been on a mission for revenge ever since Ian accidentally shot Murdina Bug, Arch’s wife, as the elderly pair attempted to steal gold from Fraser’s Ridge.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 19 Nov. 2024
Those efforts nonetheless take up many hours of screen time, and are padded out by even thinner material like Willis’ friend Fatty (Ronny Chieng) accidentally drawing crowds to Golden Palace by being overly rude to white patrons — a one-note joke sustained for too many beats.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024
This tiny iridescent green insect, accidentally imported from Asia on pallets, is deadly to ash trees and will likely wipe out more than a billion of them before it’s done reproducing itself across the Northeast.
—Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 19 Nov. 2024
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Travis Bean, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
Viewers will recall that Arch has been on a mission for revenge ever since Ian accidentally shot Murdina Bug, Arch’s wife, as the elderly pair attempted to steal gold from Fraser’s Ridge.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 19 Nov. 2024
Those efforts nonetheless take up many hours of screen time, and are padded out by even thinner material like Willis’ friend Fatty (Ronny Chieng) accidentally drawing crowds to Golden Palace by being overly rude to white patrons — a one-note joke sustained for too many beats.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024
This tiny iridescent green insect, accidentally imported from Asia on pallets, is deadly to ash trees and will likely wipe out more than a billion of them before it’s done reproducing itself across the Northeast.
—Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for accidentally
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Cite this Entry
“Accidentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accidentally. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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