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Showing results for by mistake.
Definitions

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 believed those tools could also help to identify and arrest prisoners released by mistake, and would only be used in time-limited, focused deployments.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

A few days ago she turned the small rod on her bedroom doorknob by mistake and then couldn't figure out how to pop it back and unlock the door.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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