by mistake

ADJECTIVE

accidentally

Synonyms

STRONGEST

unintentionally unwittingly

WEAK

fortuitously haphazardly

ADVERB

by chance

Synonyms

WEAK

accidentally as luck would have it by a fluke by coincidence for some reason fortuitously out of the clear blue sky unexpectedly unintentionally unwittingly

ADVERB

unawares

Synonyms

STRONG

short

WEAK

aback abruptly accidentally by accident by surprise carelessly ignorantly inadvertently mistakenly off guard sudden surprisingly unconsciously unexpectedly unintentionally unknowingly unprepared unready unwittingly

Antonyms

WEAK

consciously knowingly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Well, dear reader, I took a break, too—from What’s News—to write about great innovations that were discovered by mistake.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

When these files were released, a number of things seemed to have been released by mistake.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2026

For more than an hour, Trump repeatedly called Greenland Iceland by mistake, while demanding it be turned over to him.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026

It comes on top of the 91 prisoners who were freed by mistake between April and October in England and Wales.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025

I had strolled into my hostess’s bedroom by mistake.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

by mistake

Example Sentences

Related Words