Accidentally vs Mistake - What's the difference?
accidentally | mistake |
In an accidental manner; unexpectedly; by chance; casually; fortuitously.
Unintentionally.
* {{quote-news, year=2011
, date=December 14
, author=Steven Morris
, title=Devon woman jailed for 168 days for killing kitten in microwave
, work=Guardian
An error; a blunder.
* 1877 , Henry Heth, quoting , in "Causes of the Defeat of Gen. Lee's Army at the Battle of GettysburgOpinions of Leading Confederate Soldiers.", Southern Historical Society Papers (1877), editor Rev. J. WM. Jones [http://books.google.com/books?id=iDIFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA292&dq=lee+%22mistakes+were+made%22&hl=en&ei=fchaTbu4L8L98AaVs4n-DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lee%20%22mistakes%20were%20made%22&f=false]
(baseball) A pitch which was intended to be pitched in a hard to hit location, but instead ends up in an easy to hit place
To understand wrongly, taking one thing for another, or someone for someone else.
* Shakespeare
* Johnson
To commit an unintentional error; to do or think something wrong.
* Jonathan Swift
(obsolete, rare) To take or choose wrongly.
As an adverb accidentally
is in an accidental manner; unexpectedly; by chance; casually; fortuitously.As a noun mistake is
an error; a blunder.As a verb mistake is
to understand wrongly, taking one thing for another, or someone for someone else.accidentally
English
Alternative forms
*accidentlyAdverb
(en adverb)- He discovered penicillin largely accidentally .
- He accidentally exposed the bacteria to mold spores.
citation, page= , passage=Robins, of Torquay, had denied a single charge of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal. She claimed the microwave was accidentally turned on by one of the cats after the kitten got inside. But Knutton said the kitten was too small to even get onto the work surface.}}
Antonyms
* intentionally, deliberately, designedly, on purpose, purposely, advisedly, by choice, by designmistake
English
Noun
(en noun)- After it is all over, as stupid a fellow as I am can see that mistakes' were made. I notice, however, that my ' mistakes are never told me until it is too late.
Synonyms
* See alsoUsage notes
* Usually make a mistake. SeeVerb
- Sorry, I mistook you for my brother. You look very similar.
- My father's purposes have been mistook .
- A man may mistake the love of virtue for the practice of it.
- Servants mistake , and sometimes occasion misunderstanding among friends.
- (Shakespeare)