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.

Sydney police have appealed for the return of an 85-year-old whom they believe was kidnapped by mistake.

From BBC

Scotland just could not get themselves into Italian territory often enough, laboured running hampered by mistake after mistake.

From BBC

Sometimes he bit his own finger by mistake and it hurt.

From Literature

You couldn't aim yourself very well and sometimes you rolled into the coffee table by mistake and whacked your nose.

From Literature

And when you rolled, you often got a mouthful of rug by mistake.

From Literature