accidentally
adverb
ac·ci·dent·al·ly
ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē
-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
The Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.—Christie Aschwanden
He bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]
Cite this Entry
“Accidentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accidentally. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.
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