Accident vs. incident

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Deaki  #488220  Thu, 13 Mar 08 01:07 AM

Are there any specific difference between the words?

many thanks.^^

  
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Ruth McEwan  #488223  Thu, 13 Mar 08 01:28 AM
incident  noun Coffee
an event which is either unpleasant or unusual:
an isolated/serious/unfortunate incident
A youth was seriously injured in a shooting incident on Saturday night.

 

accident  noun Coffee
1 something which happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, and which often damages something or injures someone:
Josh had an accident and spilled water all over his work.
She was injured in a car/road accident (= when one car hit another).

 I've only dealt with the nouns here as otherwise there are too many options to discuss.  These are definitions from www.dictionary.cambridge.org - this is the dictionary that I use with my students online. Notice the difference in meaning - accident more often refers to something that harms or injures, whereas incident can be any unpleasant event, possibly NOT harmful.

Kind regards

Ruth 

  
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Hoa Thai  #488224  Thu, 13 Mar 08 01:31 AM
Hello Deaki,

Welcome to EF! 

The word incident means an unusual or important event, while an accident is either a crash involving cars, planes, etc... or a situation in which somebody is injured / something is damaged.

They arrived home without incident = They arrived home uneventfully.

He saw an accident on the highway.

  
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Deaki  #489103  Sat, 15 Mar 08 03:26 AM

Thanks,guys. It helped me a lot.^^

  
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