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Accidently vs Incidentally - What's the difference?

accidently | incidentally |

As adverbs the difference between accidently and incidentally

is that accidently is by accident, unexpectedly, by chance; fortuitously, unintentionally while incidentally is (manner) in an incidental manner; not of central or critical importance.

accidently

English

Alternative forms

* accidentally

Adverb

(en adverb)
  • by accident, unexpectedly, by chance; fortuitously, unintentionally.
  • :* {{quote-book
  • , year=1980 , year_published= , edition= , editor= , author=Phillip James Edwin Peebles , title=The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe , chapter= citation , genre=Astrophysics , publisher=Princeton University Press , isbn=9780691082400 , page=151 , passage= … which arises from four galaxies at four quite different distances that accidently' appear close together in the sky. The second line represents two galaxies close together in space and the other two '''accidently''' close in projection, the third line close triplets plus a fourth '''accidently''' close in projection, the fourth line two close pairs ' accidently seen close together in projection. }}
  • :* {{quote-book
  • , year=1995 , year_published= , edition=2, reprint, revised , editor= , author= , title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=Merriam-Webster , isbn=9780877791324 , page=16 , passage=The spelling accidently'' is not an illiteracy, but it is much less frequent than ''accidentally , and even though it has some reputable use, it may be thought a misspelling. }}
  • :* {{quote-book
  • , year=1998 , year_published=2009 , edition=digitized , editor= , author=Kenneth G. Wilson , title=Columbia Guide to Standard American English , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=MJF Books , isbn=9781567312676 , page=8 , passage=Indeed, many conservative people consider accidently a misspelling, and some conservative dictionaries do not even record it as a variant, though it has been accepted off and on for many years. }}
  • :* {{quote-book
  • , year=2011 , year_published= , edition=2, revised , editor= , author=Robert W. Shumaker, Kristina R. Walkup, Benjamin B. Beck, Gordon M. Burghardt , title=Animal Tool Behavior , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=JHU Press , isbn=9780801898532 , page=92 , passage= … relayed similar cases but suspected that the rocks were accidently' dislodged as the animals fled. ... Hall (1963) considered the same data and concluded that while such behavior might originate ' accidently during flight or display, ... }}
  • :* {{quote-book
  • , year=2012 , year_published= , edition= , editor= , author=Patrick R. Delaney PhD, CPA; O. Ray Whittington , title=Wiley CPA Exam Review 2012, Regulations , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher= , isbn= , page=334 , passage=Juan accidently spills some coffee on a client during a business meeting. Juan's tort is clearly in the scope of employment. }}

    incidentally

    English

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (manner) In an incidental manner; not of central or critical importance.
  • The book discussed the subject, but only incidentally .
  • By chance; in an unplanned way.
  • (speech act, conjunctive) Parenthetically, by the way.
  • Incidentally , did you hear anything new from your brother yesterday?

    Synonyms

    apropos, as a matter of fact, by the way

    Antonyms

    * (in an incidental manner) inevitably, certainly