Meanings
- not comparableNot intentional; not on purpose; not conscious.
We check everything because an inadvertent error could be disastrous.
Synonyms: designless
- not comparableobsoleteInattentive.
The Sharpers about Town very ingeniously understood themselves to be the undesigning Part of Mankind what Foxes are to Lambs, and therefore used the Word Biting to express any Exploit wherein they had over-reach'd any innocent and inadvertent Man of his Purse.
1712 October 8, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, number 504, page 119Synonyms: absent-minded, distracted
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot intentional; not on purpose; not conscious.
adjectiveInattentive.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehappening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Italic*n̥-
- Medieval Latinin-
- Medieval Latinadvertēns
- Medieval Latininadvertēns
- Englishinadvertent
Borrowed from Medieval Latin inadvertēns.
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian неумишлен
- неумишлен (neumišlen)not intentional
Chinese Mandarin 疏忽的, 漫不经心的
- 疏忽的not intentional
- 漫不经心的not intentional
- 粗心大意的not intentional
Danish utilsigtet
- utilsigtetnot intentional
Dutch onopzettelijk
- onopzettelijknot intentional
Esperanto senvola
- senvolanot intentional
Finnish tahaton
- tahatonnot intentional
French involontaire
- involontairenot intentional
German versehentlich, irrtümlich
- versehentlichnot intentional
- irrtümlichnot intentional
- unbeabsichtigtnot intentional
- unabsichtlichnot intentional
Icelandic óviljandi
- óviljandinot intentional
Italian involontario
- involontarionot intentional
Māori pokerehū, kōpeka
- pokerehūnot intentional
- kōpekanot intentional
Norwegian utilsiktet
- utilsiktetnot intentional
Polish nieumyślny, niezamierzony
- nieumyślnynot intentional
- niezamierzonynot intentional
- nieuważnynot intentional
Portuguese inadvertido
- inadvertidonot intentional
Romanian fârâ voie, accidental
- fârâ voienot intentional
- accidentalnot intentional
- nedoritnot intentional
- fârâ intențienot intentional
Russian неумышленный, нечаянный
- неумышленный (neumyšlennyj)not intentional
- нечаянный (nečajannyj)not intentional
Spanish involuntario
- involuntarionot intentional
Swedish oavsiktlig
- oavsiktlignot intentional
Thai ไม่ตั้งใจ, ไม่สนใจ
- ไม่ตั้งใจ (mâi-dtâng-jāi)not intentional
- ไม่สนใจ (mâi-sǒn-jāi)not intentional
- เลินเล่อ (lɤ̄ɤn-lɤ̂ɤ)not intentional
Cite this entry
inadvertent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inadvertent
“inadvertent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inadvertent. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inadvertent,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inadvertent.
Source: inadvertent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.