accidentally
adverb
ac·ci·dent·al·ly
ˌak-sə-ˈdent-lē 
-ˈden-tᵊl-ē
-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
Alcestis Cooky ObergThe Olympic test was thrown out after the test lab accidentally destroyed the backup sample … that's required to confirm a positive result.—Christie Aschwanden
Christie AschwandenHe bumped into her accidentally on purpose. [=he bumped into her intentionally but he tried to make it appear to be an accident]
Examples of accidentally in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The warheads could have been struck accidentally by drones or missiles—or deliberately attacked or stolen.
—William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Campaign spokeswoman Jenna Kaufman responded in a statement that a campaign staffer who posted the photo accidentally uploaded a second picture.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 5 Nov. 2024
Myth: Double voting is widespread across Wisconsin elections In late September, 2,000 voters were accidentally sent duplicate ballots out of Madison, though a city spokesperson told the Associated Press multiple safeguards were in place to ensure that only one ballot would be counted.
—Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2024
On Monday's episode of the Fox first responder drama, EMT Nancy (Brianna Baker) gets tested for breast cancer after her boss, Tommy (Gina Torres), notices a lump in a nude photo Nancy accidentally sent to the whole firehouse.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
Campaign spokeswoman Jenna Kaufman responded in a statement that a campaign staffer who posted the photo accidentally uploaded a second picture.
—Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 5 Nov. 2024
Myth: Double voting is widespread across Wisconsin elections In late September, 2,000 voters were accidentally sent duplicate ballots out of Madison, though a city spokesperson told the Associated Press multiple safeguards were in place to ensure that only one ballot would be counted.
—Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 5 Nov. 2024
On Monday's episode of the Fox first responder drama, EMT Nancy (Brianna Baker) gets tested for breast cancer after her boss, Tommy (Gina Torres), notices a lump in a nude photo Nancy accidentally sent to the whole firehouse.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for accidentally
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Cite this Entry
“Accidentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accidentally. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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