Unintended
/ˌʌnɪnˈtɛndɪd/
Definitions
Not done deliberately; happening by accident or without prior planning.
/ˌʌnɪnˈtɛndɪd/
Not planned or meant; accidental.
The unintended result of the new advertising campaign was a surge in customer complaints.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're baking cookies, but you accidentally spill the milk. That's an unintended action because you didn't mean to spill it!
👶 For kids: Happening by accident; not on purpose.
More Examples
The researchers were surprised by the unintended effects of the medication.
An unintended benefit of the new law was an increase in small business development.
How It's Used
"The company faced a lawsuit due to the unintended consequences of their new policy."
"The experiment yielded unintended side effects that had to be addressed."
Idioms & expressions
Unintended consequences
Negative or unexpected outcomes of a policy or action.
"The new tax law had several unintended consequences, leading to economic instability."
From Middle English *unintendede*, past participle of *unintend* (“to not intend”). The prefix "un-" signifies the negation of the verb "intend."
The word has been in use since the early 17th century, with its core meaning remaining consistent throughout.
Memory tip
Think of a project that goes wrong even though you had the best intentions! That's unintended.