How to Use incidental in a Sentence

incidental

1 of 2 adjective
Definition of incidentalnext
Synonyms for incidentalnext
  • The shrimp are nice but almost incidental; for me, this dish is all about the sauce.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Sep. 2022
  • For him, being gay is incidental to his work on the board.
    — Teo Armus, Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2022
  • Indeed, the deeper the book plunges, the more incidental the singers end up feeling.
    — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
  • This fact wasn’t incidental; empire was central to the causes and course of the war.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2022
  • The records do not prove whether the counterfeits caused the complaints or might have been incidental to the report.
    — Alexander Tin, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2023
  • In 1973, in the throes of the Cold War, the notion that nations and ideologies would be incidental might have seemed like the stuff of pulpy sci-fi.
    — John Semley, WIRED, 16 Feb. 2023
  • That many of them happen to be white men is incidental.
    — Ed Stockly, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2022
  • The action is set on the heels of a plague, but any resonance with the present seems purely incidental.
    — Naveen Kumar, Variety, 17 Nov. 2023
  • Feig seems adrift in a movie where the comedy is incidental rather than the driving force.
    — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2022
  • The fact that Miles and Gwen also shoot webs and swing around skyscrapers is incidental to their emotional arcs in the film.
    — Maya Phillips, New York Times, 1 June 2023
  • To Dorsey, the fact that Twitter creates a record of the world would be an incidental byproduct of all this status-sharing.
    — Willy Staley, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2023
  • Or was that sort of incidental to the package, and maybe a lot of them didn’t even really realize about it?
    — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 6 June 2023
  • The play was reviewed and ruled incidental contact as Jones was looking to get around Ayton to pick up Paul full court.
    — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 20 Apr. 2022
  • Researchers who study those trends say that’s not the case, and that the rise of incidental hospitalizations is a more recent trend.
    — Drew Armstrong, BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2022
  • Every hotel charges a refundable incidental fee, in addition to the price of the room plus tax.
    — Essence, 27 Apr. 2022
  • This is incidental in the big picture, but Smith is doing more than merely walking.
    — Ron Kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Feb. 2022
  • Both were calls where the actual hit was more incidental to the play than deliberate.
    — Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2023
  • For all the incidental pass interference calls that occur in a game, this move directly caused the play.
    — Doug Lesmerises, cleveland, 25 Dec. 2021
  • But those results were incidental to determine the winner in those days.
    — Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024
  • In an Instagram photo, Frankel, 51, captured the incidental meet-up on an airplane, of all places.
    — Kelly Wynne, PEOPLE.com, 21 June 2022
  • Bernstein’s view makes the artist’s life incidental: What matters is what comes out of a composition, not what goes into it.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 19 Nov. 2022
  • Previously, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo said state aides volunteered their time to work on the book and any use of state resources was incidental.
    — Jimmy Vielkind, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021
  • Her gesture is so spontaneous, her smile so broad, that her nun’s habit is almost incidental.
    — Paul Elie, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
  • The talent level is so high that the casting feels less conceptual and more incidental.
    — James Frankie Thomas, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2022
  • The problems that have occurred have been incidental, though still very important.
    — Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2022
  • TikTok had the bigger impact; this being synth-pop is incidental to its success.
    — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 15 Feb. 2022
  • Sometimes there was too much background noise to distinguish a clap, other times the Clapper responded to an incidental noise that was not a clap.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 30 Dec. 2023
  • An item that is purchased online and returned in-store may generate incidental sales that won’t show up as e-commerce.
    — Greg Petro, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Anglers in the Gulf of Mexico are allowed a very small incidental bluefin catch of about five fish annually.
    — David Rainer Alabama Department Of Conservation and Natural Resources, al, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Revenue generation should not be the goal and any revenue generated for the city should be considered incidental.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2023
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incidental

2 of 2 noun
  • There have been good salmon sign and some incidentals caught and released, so the August 15 opener looks promising.
    — Sacbee, sacbee.com, 3 July 2017
  • The balance of the price would be for contingencies and incidentals.
    — Hillary Davis, latimes.com, 23 Mar. 2018
  • And that didn't even include incidentals like rushed meals on the road or paying for sitters to sometimes drive her to practice.
    — Janine Boldrin, Good Housekeeping, 6 July 2017
  • Stick with credit To finance a trip, most families choose a form of payment for food and incidentals ahead of time.
    — Kat Hnatyshyn, kansascity, 14 June 2017
  • The AmEx Platinum gives an annual $200 credit for the airline of your choice to cover incidentals like bag fees, drinks, and meals on board.
    — Ryan Craggs, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 July 2018
  • Travis and his parents lugged his stuff—clothing, a small refrigerator, a 17-inch flat screen, and incidentals—up a flight of stairs to the second floor.
    — Nick Ehrmann, The Atlantic, 15 May 2017
  • In the meantime, her program provides them with up to $695 a month for utilities, housing and incidentals.
    — Jim Ryan, OregonLive.com, 30 Oct. 2017
  • That includes tuition, room and board and books, plus a cost of attendance stipend to cover incidentals such as travel.
    — Ralph D. Russo, The Seattle Times, 3 Sep. 2018
  • Winner may be required to present a valid credit card upon check-in at hotels to cover incidentals that are not included in the Grand Prize.
    — CNN, 12 June 2018
  • The cost to send so many teams to playoff locales, venue rentals, travel expenses and incidentals for that many players, coaches and training staff can mount.
    — Randy Sachs, star-telegram, 19 June 2017
  • More than cheese: Beyond the gourmet treats and incidentals that line the shop, the Village Cheese Shop offers classes and an annual farm dinner in summer, among other events.
    — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 Jan. 2020
  • Additional perks: In the event of a travel delay, the CSP offers $500-a-day coverage for hotels, meals, and incidentals.
    — Emily Long, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Feb. 2020
  • Three neighbors started a GoFundMe page to help the family with incidentals.
    — Mara H. Gottfried, Twin Cities, 25 Apr. 2017
  • Available in matte black and gray, or champagne pink and black, the backpacks feature a 15-inch padded laptop sleeve, padded back, and front zipper pocket for your wallet, keys, and other incidentals.
    — Necee Regis, BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2018
  • Funeral costs continue to climb, as do prices for funeral plots and incidentals many people don't know about.
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 22 Jan. 2020
  • The reasons for the move are simple: a lower cost of living, from homes and groceries to gas and incidentals, plus expanding industries, specifically in tech.
    — Allie Beth Allman & Associates, Dallas News, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Everyone covered their own meals and incidentals out of pocket.
    — Aaron Gell, Vanities, 2 Apr. 2018
  • This total doesn’t include most meals, in-city transportation or incidentals (such as college sweatshirts).
    — cleveland, 23 Feb. 2020
  • After paying for utilities, medical bills, laundry and other incidentals, she’s left with about $200 a month for food, clothing and anything else that pops up.
    — Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Here, too, the movie offers plenty of charming household incidentals, as with Amara’s desire to take up boxing and Adonis’s willingness to teach her behind Bianca’s back.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Taxes and fees, air fare, shore excursions and incidentals onboard are the responsibility of the winner.
    — Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit, 27 Mar. 2017
  • Remaining funds of the collection are earmarked to help fund a photo memory book for the Loosa family and other incidentals, Donnelly said.
    — Karie Angell Luc, chicagotribune.com, 20 June 2017
  • The company has paid for incidentals associated with the trip, including a hotel room in Dearborn, meals and a tuxedo for the auto show's formal charity ball.
    — Phoebe Wall Howard, chicagotribune.com, 6 Feb. 2018
  • In August, all members will also begin earning points for food and beverage purchases and qualifying incidentals, rather than just the room rate.
    — Nancy Trejos, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Customers pay a monthly access fee, hourly fee, fuel adjustments, plus incidentals.
    — Doug Gollan, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Beyond hotel stays, city employees in Surprise and other metro Phoenix cities receive daily allowances to cover meals and incidentals when traveling.
    — Perry Vandell, azcentral, 16 Apr. 2018
  • It was eventually deemed harmless, and inside investigators found a Bible, some papers, and a small machete, among other incidentals.
    — Aaron Gell, Longreads, 9 Apr. 2018
  • Hatch noted this doesn’t cover associated costs like books, travel to campus or other incidentals.
    — Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2019
  • Ground transportation, meals, in-room or other personal charges at lodging (e.g., mini-bar, movies), telephone calls, gratuities, incidentals, and all other expenses are not included.
    — Kwasi Boadi, Billboard, 24 Aug. 2019
  • The various forms of content disorientingly overlap—the professional with the amateur, the intentional with the incidental.
    — Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incidental.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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