Definitions for Accidental
ˌæk sɪˈdɛn tlac·ci·den·tal

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. accidentaladjective

   a musical notation that makes a note sharp or flat or natural although that is not part of the key signature

2. accidental, inadvertentadjective

   happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally

   "with an inadvertent gesture she swept the vase off the table"; "accidental poisoning"; "an accidental shooting"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. accidentalnoun

   A property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally.

2. accidentalnoun

   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.

3. accidentalnoun

   A sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note.

4. accidentaladjective

   Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous

   an accidental visit

5. accidentaladjective

   Nonessential; not necessary belonging; incidental

   are accidental to a play

6. accidentaladjective

   Foreign to the key signature or a proper harmony.

7. Etymology: * First attested in 1386.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Accidentaladjective

   Etymology: from accident.

   1. Having the quality of an accident, nonessential; used with the particle to, before that in which the accident inheres.

   A distinction is to be made between what pleases naturally in itself, and what pleases upon the account of machines, actors, dances, and circumstances, which are merely accidental to the tragedy. Thomas Rymer, Tragedies of the last Age.

   This is accidental to a state of religion, and therefore ought to be reckoned among the ordinary difficulties of it. John Tillotson.

   2. Casual, fortuitous, happening by chance.

   Thy sin’s not accidental, but a trade. William Shakespeare, Meas. for Meas.

   So shall you hear
   Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters;
   Of deaths put on by cunning, and forc’d cause. William Shakespeare, Ham.

   Look upon things of the most accidental and mutable nature; accidental in their production, and mutable in their continuance; yet God’s prescience of them is as certain in him, as the memory of them is, or can be, in us. Robert South, Sermons.

   3. In the following passage it seems to signify adventitious.

   Ay, such a minister as wind to fire,
   That adds an accidental fierceness to
   Its natural fury. John Denham, Sophy.

2. Accidentalnoun

   A property nonessential.

   Etymology: accidental, Fr.

   Conceive, as much as you can, of the essentials of any subject, before you consider its accidentals. Isaac Watts, Logick.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. accidental

   Accidental refers to an event or situation that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, or anything that occurs without any purposeful planning or cause. Furthermore, in the context of music, an accidental is a symbol denoting changes to a note's pitch.

2. accidental

   Accidental is an adjective that refers to something occurring unexpectedly, unintentionally, or by chance, without being planned or foreseen. It can also refer to an incidental or nonessential thing or circumstance. In music, an accidental is a sign that changes or modifies the pitch of a note.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Accidentaladjective

   happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous; as, an accidental visit

2. Accidentaladjective

   nonessential; not necessary belonging; incidental; as, are accidental to a play

3. Accidentalnoun

   a property which is not essential; a nonessential; anything happening accidentally

4. Accidentalnoun

   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

5. Accidentalnoun

   a sharp, flat, or natural, occurring not at the commencement of a piece of music as the signature, but before a particular note

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Accidental

   In music, an accidental is a note whose pitch is not a member of a scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the sharp, flat, and natural symbols are used to mark such notes, and those symbols may themselves be called accidentals. In the measure in which it appears, an accidental sign raises or lowers the following notes from their normal pitch, ignoring sharps or flats in the key signature. A note is usually raised or lowered by a semitone, although microtonal music may use "fractional" accidental signs. One occasionally sees double sharps or flats, which raise or lower the indicated note by a whole tone. Accidentals apply within the measure and octave in which they appear, unless canceled by another accidental sign, or tied into a following measure. The modern accidental signs derive from the round and square small letter b used in Gregorian chant manuscripts to signify the two pitches of B, the only note that could be altered. The round b became the flat sign, while the square b diverged into the sharp and natural signs. Sometimes the black keys on a musical keyboard are called accidentals or sharps, and the white keys are called naturals.

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce Accidental?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Accidental in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Accidental in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Accidental in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Accidental in a Sentence

1. Alexandre Dalloni:

   The shark is an animal which isn't going to attack a human for no reason. There are attacks, but they're accidental.

2. State Mike Pompeo:

   I've seen that reporting too. I've seen some of our internal information as well. We can confirm at least the initial reports are that you've described are just about right. A handful of shots that came across from the North. We think those were accidental. South Koreans did return fire so far as we can tell there was no loss of life on either side.

3. Police Commissioner Bratton:

   What happened last night was a very unfortunate tragedy, It appears to be an accidental discharge with no intention to strike anybody at this time.

4. Leo Rosten:

   Humor is, I think, the subtlest and chanciest of literary forms. It is surely not accidental that there are a thousand novelists, essayists, poets or journalists for each humorist. It is a long, long time between James Thurbers

5. Jeremy Hunt:

   We are very concerned: we don't think either side wants a war, but we are very concerned that we could get into an accidental war and we are doing everything we can to ratchet things down.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Accidental
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Accidental
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Accidental
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Accidental
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Accidental
7. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Accidental