Grammar Clinic: The REAL difference between ACCIDENT and INCIDENT

Accident and incident are two different words that are often confused and used interchangeably, however, these words are different from each other and have different implications.

Incident refers to an event or occurrence. An incident may apply to a minor happening: Errors are inescapable incidents in the course of scientific research. She reported the incident to the university police, and they conducted an investigation.

Accident is an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury. It could also mean an event that happened by chance without deliberate cause: Her admission into the University of Lagos was by accident.

Comparison:

The word accident has a negative implication and could result in loss of life, or damage to goods. It means mishap, an unforeseen event or an unplanned circumstance that occur, with a most common negative outcome.

An incident on the other hand can refer to any even that happens; it could be positive or negative. In many times, incident is often interchanged with accident, if it has a most positive implication. It is used to describe any accident in general. Incidents usually have adjectives before the word, in order to explain the type of incident it is.

Note:

Incidence (n): The occurrence, rate, or frequency of a disease, crime, or something else undesirable.

In Physics, Incidence is the intersection of a line, or something moving in a straight line, such as a beam of light, with a surface.

Accidence (n): The part of grammar that deals with the inflections of words.