incident
[noun]
Synonyms:
- happening, adventure, episode, event, fact, matter, occasion, occurrence
- disturbance, clash, commotion, confrontation, contretemps, scene

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Antonyms: essential, fundamental

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English Thesaurus: event, occurrence, incident, occasion, affair, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

in‧ci‧dent S3 W2 AC /ˈɪnsədənt, ˈɪnsɪdənt/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Latin, present participle of incidere 'to fall into']

1. an event, especially one that is unusual, important, or violent:
Am I at risk because of some incident in my sexual past?
Roads were sealed off because of a major incident.
without incident
The plane landed without incident.

REGISTER
Incident is used mainly in journalism or in formal contexts. In everyday English, people usually say something happened rather than talking about an incident:
Am I at risk because of something that happened in my past?

2. a serious disagreement between two countries:
You could have caused a major diplomatic incident.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

incident
noun
ADJ. major, serious | little, minor, small, trivial | further After nearly falling twice, she managed to make it to the top of the cliff without further incident.
whole He came to regret the whole incident.
actual, real/real-life The story is based on an actual incident.
alleged | reported | recorded | latest, recent | past | bad, horrific, horrifying, nasty, terrible, ugly, unpleasant, unsavoury some of the worst incidents of urban violence
violent | fatal, tragic | dramatic | controversial | famous | regrettable, unfortunate | embarrassing | bizarre, curious, mysterious, strange, unusual | amusing | unrelated, separate The police said that two men had been arrested after the match in unrelated incidents.
isolated It is feared that the attack may not have been an isolated incident.
scattered scattered incidents of violence across the country
domestic | international | border Talks between the neighbouring countries were called off following a border incident.
racial | diplomatic An error in the translation nearly caused a diplomatic incident.
terrorist | nuclear | bomb/bombing, shooting, stabbing | pollution | off-the-ball (sport) She received a serious jaw injury in an off-the-ball incident.
VERB + INCIDENT cause, provoke | be responsible for The group is believed to have been responsible for several terrorist incidents.
be involved in The hot-headed tennis star became involved in an incident with the umpire.
deal with, handle The incident was extremely well handled.
avoid, prevent | regret | see, witness | recall, remember He recalled a similar incident 14 months earlier. | forget | describe, recount She described the incident as outrageous. They all laughed as he recounted the amusing incident.
discuss, talk about | play down the government's desire to play down the incident
report The pedestrian who had nearly been run over reported the incident to the police.
investigate | be hurt in, be injured in, be killed in | pass (off) without, proceed without, take place without The demonstration passed without incident.
INCIDENT + VERB happen, occur, take place | arise (from/out of sth) incidents arising out of an industrial dispute
involve sb/sth a minor incid | cause sth, lead to sth, spark sth (off) The incident sparked off a riot which lasted three days.
INCIDENT + NOUN room An incident room was set up at a police station near the site of the crash.
PREP. following an/the ~ He was asked to leave the club following an incident at a training camp.
in an/the ~ Three soldiers were wounded in the incident.
over an/the ~ She was never disciplined over the incident.
without ~ The patrol had covered 200 miles without incident.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

incident

a serious incident
The road is closed following a serious incident earlier today.
a major incident (=very serious)
The most recent major incident was an explosion at an oil refinery.
a small/minor incident
An apparently minor incident sparked off rioting.
the whole incident
The whole incident was caught on CCTV.
a separate incident
Young men were killed in two separate incidents on the same day.
a related incident (=connected to another incident)
The report describes a number of related incidents.
an isolated incident (=one that happens on its own, not together with others)
Luckily the attack turned out to be an isolated incident.
the latest incident (=the most recent one)
In the latest incident a post office was broken into.
a dramatic incident (=unexpected and exciting)
Viewers watched the dramatic incident on the television news.
a violent incident
There have been several violent incidents at football matches recently.
a tragic incident (=one that involves someone’s death)
Andrew’s father was lost at sea in this tragic incident.
an unfortunate incident (=involving an accident or argument)
Disciplinary action may be taken over this unfortunate incident.
an embarrassing incident
He left after an embarrassing incident in the bar.
a strange/unusual incident
Any unusual incidents should be reported to the police.
a shooting/stabbing incident (=when someone is shot or stabbed)
Two men died today in a shooting incident.
an incident happens
The incident happened as Mrs Edwards was walking her dog.
an incident occurs formal
The tragic incident occurred just after midnight.
cause an incident
His carelessness caused a major incident.
provoke/spark off an incident (=cause it to happen suddenly)
It is claimed that the police provoked the incident.
be involved in an incident
All those involved in the incident were sacked.
deal with/handle an incident
The police were criticized for the way in which they handled the incident.
describe an incident
Police asked the victim to describe the incident.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

event something that happens, especially something important, interesting, or unusual:
He spoke of the tragic event in which more than 100 people died.
recent political events
occurrence /əˈkʌrəns $ əˈkʌrəns/ formal something that happens – used especially when saying how often something happens:
Divorce is a common occurrence these days.
Storms like this one are fortunately a rare occurrence.
Accidents are almost a daily occurrence on this road.
incident something that happens, especially something that is unusual or unpleasant, or something that is one of several events:
He died after a violent incident outside a nightclub.
This latest incident could put an end to his career.
occasion an important social event or celebration:
She only wore the dress for special occasions.
It was his 100th birthday, and friends and family gathered to mark the occasion.
affair [usually singular] something that happens, especially something shocking in political or public life which involves several people and events:
The affair has caused people to lose confidence in their government.
phenomenon /fɪˈnɒmənən, fɪˈnɒmɪnən $ fɪˈnɑːmənɑːn, -nən/ something that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially something that is studied because it is difficult to understand:
natural phenomena such as earthquakes
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲