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Surprising vs Accidental - What's the difference?

surprising | accidental |

As nouns the difference between surprising and accidental

is that surprising is the action of the verb to surprise while accidental is a property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.

As adjectives the difference between surprising and accidental

is that surprising is that is or are a surprise while accidental is not essential; incidental, secondary.

As a verb surprising

is .

surprising

English

Verb

(head)
  • Noun

    (s)
  • The action of the verb to surprise .
  • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • That is or are a surprise.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 3, author=David Ornstein, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Macc Tel-Aviv 1-2 Stoke , passage=With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}

    Synonyms

    * astonishing, unexpected See

    accidental

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Not essential; incidental, secondary.
  • (music) Adjusted by one or two semitones, in temporary departure from the key signature.
  • Occurring sometimes, by chance; occasional.
  • Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; by accident, unintentional.
  • *1603 , (John Florio), translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays , III.1:
  • *:The way to trueth is but one and simple, that of particular profit and benefit of affaires a man hath in charge, double, uneven and accidentall .
  • (geometry) Being a double point with two distinct tangent planes in 4-dimensional projective space.
  • Synonyms

    * adventitious, casual, contingent, fortuitous, incidental, occasional, serendipitous

    Derived terms

    * accidental chords * accidental colors * accidental point * accidental lights

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.
  • * Fuller — He conceived it just that accidentals ... should sink with the substance of the accusation.
  • (painting, pluralonly) Those fortuitous effects produced by luminous rays falling on certain objects so that some parts stand forth in abnormal brightness and other parts are cast into a deep shadow.
  • (music) A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note.