unintended

/ənɪnˈtɛndɪd/

/ənɪnˈtɛndɪd/

Other forms: unintendedly

If you do something without planning or meaning to do it, it's unintended. An unintended consequence of your fun day at the beach is your painful, peeling sunburn.

To intend is to plan or aim to do something. When you don't intend to do something but it happens anyway, it's unintended. An unintended side effect of your winning the 50-yard dash might be the extreme envy of your sister, who's very athletic and loves to win. And if you let her trim your hair later, you may just end up with unintended bangs!

Definitions of unintended

1. adjective

   not deliberate
   synonyms:

   accidental, inadvertent

   happening by chance or unexpectedly or unintentionally

   causeless, fortuitous, uncaused

   having no cause or apparent cause

   unintentional, unplanned, unwitting

   not done with purpose or intent

   unmotivated

   without motivation

   unplanned

   without apparent forethought or prompting or planning

   antonyms:

   intended

   resulting from one's intentions

   conscious, witting

   intentionally conceived

   calculated, deliberate, measured

   carefully thought out in advance

   intentional, knowing

   characterized by conscious design or purpose

   well-intentioned, well-meaning, well-meant

   marked by good intentions though often producing unfortunate results

   motivated

   provided with a motive or given incentive for action

   planned

   designed or carried out according to a plan

   premeditated

   characterized by deliberate purpose and some degree of planning