accidental
accidental — adjective
1. describing something that was not planned or intended, but came about by chance
describing something that was not planned or intended, but came about by chance — for example, knocking over a glass while reaching for a phone, or meeting an old classmate at the airport.
Jamal's accidental click sent the email before she had finished writing it.
accidental + noun (click, fall, meeting)
The fire was accidental, caused by a candle that nobody remembered to blow out.
predicative use: be accidental
Nikolai and his old teacher had an accidental meeting at the bookshop near the station.
Police believe the damage to the car was accidental rather than deliberate.
Lior's accidental discovery of the old letters changed how she saw her grandmother.
- unintentional
stresses lack of intent more than chance
- unplanned
highlights absence of planning, neutral on cause
- chance
before a noun, like 'a chance encounter'; emphasises luck
- deliberate
done on purpose, often with effort
- intentional
formal antonym, used in legal and ethical contexts
- planned
arranged in advance
用法筆記
Often contrasted directly with 'deliberate', 'intentional', or 'on purpose' to stress that no one planned the event. Frequently modifies abstract nouns of action or result (death, damage, discovery, meeting).
常見錯誤
accidental — noun
1. in written music, a small symbol placed before a note to raise it, lower it, or
in written music, a small symbol placed before a note to raise it, lower it, or cancel an earlier change, even when the new pitch falls outside the piece's main key.
The teacher pointed to the accidental in bar four and asked Daniel to replay it.
countable noun in a musical context
Beginners often miss the accidentals and play the wrong notes by mistake.
plural form: accidentals
A sharp before a note is the most common type of accidental in this piece.
The composer used accidentals to give the melody a darker, jazz-like sound.
用法筆記
A specialist music term; the symbols include the sharp, flat, and natural signs. Distinguish from sense 2 (BIRD), which is about ornithology, not music.
2. a bird seen far from its usual region, route, or season — for example, a tropica
a bird seen far from its usual region, route, or season — for example, a tropical species spotted in northern Europe after a strong storm.
Birdwatchers rushed to the coast hoping to see the storm-driven accidental.
countable noun, common in birdwatching reports
The tiny warbler was an accidental, far from its normal home in West Africa.
Local birders keep a careful list of every accidental that visits their wetlands.
A flamingo on the rocky beach was clearly an accidental, lost from its Spanish flock.
- vagrant
more technical ornithology term, same meaning
用法筆記
Used mainly by birdwatchers and ornithologists; a near-synonym is 'vagrant'. Distinguish from sense 1 (MUSIC SIGN), which is a musical symbol.