incidentally
advUK /ˌɪnsɪˈdɛntl̩i/ · US /ˌɪnsəˈdɛn(t)l̩i/
Etymology From incidental + -ly.
› In an incidental manner.
1
Manner By happenstance; in a particular case which has little to no bearing on, and little to no causal relation to, any other case.
- Near-synonyms: coincidentally, happenstantially, circumstantially, by chance, accidentally, semirandomly, randomly
2
Manner Not of central or critical importance.
- Near-synonym: in passing
- The book discussed the subject, but only incidentally.
2 more examples
- Nor, will the tragic dramatist who would depict mortal indomitableness in its fullest sweep and direct swing, ever forget a hint, incidentally so important in his art, as the one now alluded to.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- Not everybody welcomes standardisation as a principle, because it reduces variety (and, incidentally, tends to dispose of the quainter and more picturesque anomalies).1951 April 23, D. S. Barrie, “British Railways: A Survey, 1948-1950”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 225:
3
Manner Conjunctive Parenthetically, by the way.
- Incidentally, did you hear anything new from your brother yesterday?