UNINTENTIONALLY Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

unintentionally

adverb

as in inadvertently

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of unintentionally The advisory warns that violating Saudi laws, even unintentionally, can carry serious consequences. — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 As for the crack, well, that happened by accident when heavy equipment punched through a concrete wall and unintentionally punctured the sphere, company officials told The Mountaineer. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026 Bycatch — marine life caught unintentionally while fishers target something else — makes up 2% of the pollock fishery’s total catch. — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 Gillis also drew some criticism for unintentionally saying the F-word during a sketch on SNL, and Gillis subsequently apologized. — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026 But what if the Christmas card campaign unintentionally replicated a specific individual? — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026 Without proper controls, productivity gains can unintentionally drive disproportionate cost growth. — Sudipto Dasgupta, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026 For Farrar, now 38, unintentionally becoming the Nostradamus of a surreal and often very dumb political era has been a bizarre experience — haunting, even. — David MacK, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026 After internet access was made available unintentionally, the model hacked into multiple real firms. — Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 19 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unintentionally

Adverb

This leads to River commandeering a woman’s car and inadvertently gaining a partner in her dog Monty, who doesn’t figure into the action but is most assuredly a Very Good Boy.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Executives who remain tethered to routine reporting or data validation could inadvertently create an organizational bottleneck.

— Alexandra J. Zanela, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of inadvertently

Adverb

Diggory and Polly are transported to Narnia from London after accidentally misusing magic rings owned by Diggory’s Uncle Andrew, played by Daniel Craig.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
At the time, Affleck allowed Samuel, then 10, to sit in the driver's seat of a bright yellow Lamborghini SUV before the boy accidentally put the car into reverse and backed into a white BMW.

— Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of accidentally

Adverb

Anyone who waited by the stage door at London’s Trafalgar Theatre last year may well have unwittingly been offered a major clue about a development within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
When Jay encounters a giant squid being chased by a mammoth sperm whale, he’s unwittingly entangled in the former’s tentacles and swallowed up in one extended, terrifying sequence.

— David Mack, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of unwittingly

Adverb

And, fortuitously for would-be sponsors, something happened in tennis that made these arrangements even more appealing.

— Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
The earnings announcement was fortuitously timed, coming just as reports were surfacing of high-level OpenAI employees joining the company.

— Jordan Novet, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of fortuitously

Adverb

Jasson Domínguez, still a liability on defense, carelessly let a leadoff single bounce past him and roll to the wall in right for a two-base error, but Cole managed to strand the runner at third and logged a scoreless frame.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
Omar Alderete, O’Nien’s second-half replacement, carelessly did the same thing for the late winner.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of carelessly

Adverb

The original 1971 experiment was conducted by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo, who arbitrarily split volunteers into two groups—inmates and guards—and observed how power corrupted them.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
Mykola Murskyj, senior adviser on policy and strategy at the nonprofit organization Razom for Ukraine, told the Washington Examiner that Zelensky isn’t just arbitrarily clinging to power — the entire country is wary of voting during wartime.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of arbitrarily

Adverb

Unfortunately, there are too many cases in which an individual is chosen casually and lacks the necessary skills.

— Elliot Raphaelson, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Oct. 2026
Chromebooks casually offer a handful of advantages over regular computers, starting with faster startup times and response rates.

— George Yang, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of casually

Browse Nearby Words

unintentional

unintentionally

uninterested

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“Unintentionally.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unintentionally. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of unintentionally

adverb

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