what's the difference between 'accident' and 'incident'?

Answer 1

Accident - an unfortunate event whereby an injury to something or somebody has occurred..... ie a hit and run accident where the vehicle careered out of control and hit a tree... [we now have an ACCIDENT scene...]
Incident - the occurring of an event that is out of the ordinary to 'normal' events (not necessarily good or bad - just 'different') ......ie. at 2am on the morning of .... three strange lights were seen hovering over Mr.X's farm - witnessed by his 21yr old daughter and her boyfriend coming home from a party..... [we now have a scene where the INCIDENT occurred....]

Answer 2

An incident doesn't have to be an accident. An incident i just an event. An accident is an incident. It's just that most people say "incident" because it's more... polite, and doesn't touch on the fact that an "accident" is ... mentally wounding at times.

That's assuming when you say accident, you mean by the automobile type of accident. An accident can just simply be an inadvertent mistake.

Or, you can just go onto answerse.com and check the dictionary definitions.

Answer 3

Key Difference: The word accident has a negative implication and could result in loss of life, or damage to goods. An incident on the other hand can refer to any even that happens; it could be positive or negative. 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. 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. The word has also been started to use in positive manner, where something that happens unexpectedly can also lead to go things. The word ‘accident’ is defined by Merriam Webster as: an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance lack of intention or necessity: chance an unfortunate event resulting especially from carelessness or ignorance an unexpected and medically important bodily event especially when injurious an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured but for which legal relief may be sought Examples: There was huge accident, which cost many lives on the bridge. Mike was injured in an accident at work. I accidently lost my keys. Running into Molly was a happy accident. (Positive implication. 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 incidents in general. Incidents usually have adjectives before the word, in order to explain the type of incident it is. The word ‘incident’ is defined as: something dependent on or subordinate to something else of greater or principal importance an occurrence of an action or situation that is a separate unit of experience: happening an accompanying minor occurrence or condition an action likely to lead to grave consequences especially in diplomatic matters Examples: Two people were shot yesterday in two separate incidents. Many such incidents go unreported. Mary was shaken by the incident. The bombing caused an international incident. In this manner, every accident can be an incident as incidents can have both a positive as well as a negative implication. However not all incidents can be termed as an accident.

Answer 4

Incident is something that happened.

Accident is something unplanned that happened.

Definitions included below.

in·ci·dent (ns-dnt) KEY

NOUN:

A definite and separate occurrence; an event. See Synonyms at occurrence.
A usually minor event or condition that is subordinate to another.
Something contingent on or related to something else.
An occurrence or event that interrupts normal procedure or precipitates a crisis: an international incident.


ac·ci·dent (ks-dnt, -dnt) KEY

NOUN:

An unexpected and undesirable event, especially one resulting in damage or harm: car accidents on icy roads.
An unforeseen incident: A series of happy accidents led to his promotion.
An instance of involuntary urination or defecation in one's clothing.
Lack of intention; chance: ran into an old friend by accident.
Logic A circumstance or attribute that is not essential to the nature of something.

Answer 5

Main Entry: ac·ci·dent
Pronunciation: 'ak-s&-d&nt, -"dent; 'aks-d&nt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin accident-, accidens nonessential quality, chance, from present participle of accidere to happen, from ad- + cadere to fall -- more at CHANCE
1 a : an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance b : lack of intention or necessity : CHANCE
2 a : an unfortunate event resulting especially from carelessness or ignorance b : an unexpected and medically important bodily event especially when injurious c : an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured but for which legal relief may be sought d -- used euphemistically to refer to an involuntary act or instance of urination or defecation
3 : a nonessential property or quality of an entity or circumstance


Main Entry: 1in·ci·dent
Pronunciation: 'in(t)-s&-d&nt, -"dent
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin incident-, incidens, from Latin, present participle of incidere to fall into, from in- + cadere to fall -- more at CHANCE
1 : something dependent on or subordinate to something else of greater or principal importance
2 a : an occurrence of an action or situation that is a separate unit of experience : HAPPENING b : an accompanying minor occurrence or condition : CONCOMITANT
3 : an action likely to lead to grave consequences especially in diplomatic matters
synonym see OCCURRENCE

Answer 6

Incidently, I answered this by accident.

Answer 7

An incident is simply something happening/ any occurrence that you are referring to.

An accident is something happening by mistake.

The incident is the more general word: an incident can happen by accident or on purpose. It doesn't matter. It's still an incident.

Answer 8

An Accident is an unexpected occurrence.

An Incident is a relatively minor occurrence.

*** An accident is premeditated carelessness.

Answer 9

INCIDENT is an individual occurrence or event where as ACCIDENT is an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury or damage.

Answer 10

well an accident is something you didn t mean to happen and an incident is something that has happened, thats probably how i would put it. Hope this helps a little :)