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   accidental

   /ˌaksɪˈdɛntl/

   adjective

   • 1. happening by chance, unintentionally, or unexpectedly: "a verdict of accidental death" Similar fortuitouschanceoccurring by chance/accidentadventitiousflukycoincidentalcasualserendipitousrandomaleatoryunexpectedunforeseenunanticipatedunlooked-forunintentionalunintendedinadvertentinvoluntaryunplannedunpremeditatedunthinkingunmeantunwittingunknowingunconscioussubconsciousmistakenmisguidedOpposite intentionalplanned
   • 2. incidental; subsidiary: "the location is accidental and contributes nothing to the poem" Similar incidentalunimportantby the wayby the bysupplementarysubsidiarysubordinatesecondarymarginalminorlesseraccessoryperipheraltangentialextraneousextrinsicparentheticalirrelevantimmaterialbeside the pointof little accountunnecessarynon-essentialinessentialOpposite essentialcentral
   • 3. (in Aristotelian thought) relating to or denoting properties which are not essential to a thing's nature.

   noun

   • 1. a sign indicating a momentary departure from the key signature by raising or lowering a note: "horn parts are usually written without key signature, the necessary accidentals being added"
   • 2. another term for vagrant

   Word Origin late Middle English (in accidental (sense 2 of the adjective and sense 3 of the adjective)): from late Latin accidentalis, from Latin accident- ‘happening’ (see accident).

   Scrabble Points: 15

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   • C

     3

   • C

     3

   • I

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     2

   • E

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   • N

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   • A

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