incidental

incidental
incident, incidental adjectives.
Incident has been almost entirely replaced as an adjective by incidental, so that a sentence such as Those in the highest station have their incident cares and troubles now sounds decidedly dated. This freeing of incident from its older role as an adjective has coincided with its greatly increased use as a noun with the meaning ‘a particular episode or distinct event receiving general attention’, a use in which it can refer to a wide range of events from the most important (terrorist attacks, leakages of radiation from nuclear power stations, and so on) to the most minor or trivial (domestic arguments, demonstrations at meetings, traffic mishaps, etc.). In police use it has a special application reflected in the compound forms incident book, incident room, etc., in which incident is not an adjective but the noun used attributively.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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  • incidental — in·ci·den·tal /ˌin sə dent əl/ adj 1: subordinate or secondary in importance or position incidental benefits 2: incident 3: occurring by chance or in isolation incidental use of a person s …   Law dictionary

  • incidental — in‧ci‧den‧tal [ˌɪnsˈdentl◂] adjective incidental costs/​expenses etc ACCOUNTING small amounts of money which are spent at various times as part of a larger bill: • The Law Centre has to meet the incidental expenses of the committee, such as… …   Financial and business terms

  • Incidental — In ci*den tal, a. Happening, as an occasional event, without regularity; coming without design; casual; accidental; hence, not of prime concern; subordinate; collateral; as, an incidental conversation; an incidental occurrence; incidental… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • incidental — INCIDENTÁL, Ă, incidentali, e, adj. (Adesea adverbial) Care intervine întâmplător; accidental. – Din fr. incidentel. Trimis de valeriu, 21.07.2003. Sursa: DEX 98  INCIDENTÁL adj. 1. v. întâmplător. 2. v. neprevăzut. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007 …   Dicționar Român

  • incidental — [in΄sə dent′ l] adj. [ML incidentalis] 1. a) happening as a result of or in connection with something more important; casual [incidental benefits] b) likely to happen as a result or concomitant: with to [troubles incidental to divorce] 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • Incidental — In ci*den tal, n. An incident; that which is incidental; esp., in the plural, an aggregate of subordinate or incidental items not particularized; as, the expense of tuition and incidentals. Pope. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • incidental — ► ADJECTIVE 1) occurring as a minor accompaniment or by chance in connection with something else. 2) (incidental to) liable to happen as a consequence of. ► NOUN ▪ an incidental detail, expense, etc …   English terms dictionary

  • incidental — (adj.) casual, occasional, 1610s, from M.L. incidentalis, from incidens (see INCIDENT (Cf. incident) (n.)). Incidentals (n.) occasional expenses, etc., is attested by 1707 …   Etymology dictionary

  • incidental — adj. 2 g. Que sobrevém por incidente …   Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa

  • incidental — *accidental, casual, fortuitous, contingent, adventitious Analogous words: *subordinate, secondary, collateral: associated, related, linked, connected (see JOIN) Antonyms: essential (sense 2) Contrasted words: fundamental, cardinal, vital (see… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • incidental — [adj] related; minor accidental, accompanying, adventitious, ancillary, attendant, by the way*, casual, chance, circumstantial, coincidental, concomitant, concurrent, contingent, contributing, contributory, fluke*, fortuitous, irregular,… …   New thesaurus

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