inadvertent

UK/ˌɪnədˈvɜːtn̩t/US/ˌɪnədˈvɝtn̩t/

adjectiveC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,682 of 15,258leans written

Inadvertent means done without meaning to. An inadvertent error, inadvertent disclosure, entirely inadvertent.

It is the formal word for an honest mistake and does real work in law, since an inadvertent breach may carry a different penalty from a deliberate one. It concedes the fact while denying the intention.

Definitions of inadvertent

1adjectiveinadvertentDone without meaning to.C1
“I'm sorry, it was an inadvertent mistake, and I've already fixed it.”

inadvertent is a quality.

Where it comes from

Medieval Latin
inadvertēns
English, today
inadvertent

Borrowed from Medieval Latin inadvertēns.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

inadvertent in the wild

A long hop is a type of inadvertent delivery in the sport of cricket.
Long hop
The article, which was published in Issue 28 of Jane Austen's Regency World magazine, is a critique of the publishing industry through their inadvertent rejection of Jane Austen.
Rejecting Jane
The discovery of the evidence does not have to be inadvertent, although that is a characteristic of most legitimate plain-view seizures.
Horton v. California
At T+59 seconds, the Agena disintegrated due to either structural loads or inadvertent activation of the range safety destruct charges.
Discoverer 27
The select committee accepted that the breach was inadvertent.
1874 Akaroa by-elections

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the inadvertēns family

inadvertently inadvertent

inadvertent — used about once every 15,236 pages · #12,682 · point at the bar for the others

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