The word "unintentionally" is spelled in a way that reflects its pronunciation. The first syllable, "un-", is pronounced with a short "ʌ" sound. The following syllables, "-in-", "-ten-", and "-tion-", are pronounced with a short "ɪ" sound. The last two syllables, "-al-" and "-ly", are pronounced with a long "æ" sound and a short "li" sound, respectively. The IPA phonetic transcription of "unintentionally" is /ʌnɪn'tɛnʃənəli/. Despite its challenging spelling, it is a commonly used word that means to do something without intention or purpose.
Unintentionally is an adverb that describes an action or behavior that occurs without any conscious or deliberate intent or purpose. It is commonly used to describe situations in which something is done or happens accidentally, inadvertently, or without premeditation.
When someone acts unintentionally, it means they did not have the intention or plan to take that specific action or bring about a particular outcome. This could happen due to a lack of awareness, a mistake, or a failure to consider the consequences of their behavior. For example, if someone suddenly bumps into another person on the street because they were distracted, it can be said that they unintentionally caused the collision.
Unintentional actions can occur in various contexts, from daily personal interactions to professional settings. An unintentional mistake could be made during a project at work if the proper research or care was not taken. In personal relationships, someone might unintentionally say something hurtful without realizing the impact their words can have. In both instances, the primary factor is that the person's actions were unintentional, indicating that there was no deliberate aim behind them.
Understanding the concept of unintentionally is crucial in determining intent or assigning blame in various situations. It recognizes that actions can occur without a conscious desire or plan, providing a means to differentiate between accidental or unintended outcomes and purposeful actions.
Without design.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word unintentionally originates from a combination of two words: un- and intentionally.
The prefix un- in English is commonly used to express negation or the opposite meaning of a word. In this case, it negates the word intentionally.
The word intentionally is derived from the noun intention, which is traced back to the Latin word intentio, meaning purpose or stretching. It entered the English language during the late 16th century.
By adding the negating prefix un- to intentionally, it forms unintentionally, which means not done on purpose or without intent.