Blunder vs. Mistake vs. Accident

Trying to figure out the difference.

Let’s say I did something wrong at work or in my personal life. Perhaps, I caused an embarrassment for my peers or humiliated myself by doing something wrong

Now before I even begin to contemplate about how I can improve, I must understand what went and whether I’m accountable or not.

This brings me to the blurred words that signify the ‘kind of wrong’ that I’ve done.

Specifically, here are the words:

Blunder: a stupid or careless mistake.

Mistake: an act or judgment that is misguided or wrong.

Accident: an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.

So, what’s the difference?

As per what I can grasp, here’s my interpretation:

Blunder: If I intentionally don’t pay attention to something and show a lack of awareness then I’d have made a blunder.

E.g. Not paying attention while cooking and adding detergent to food instead of salt (I know it’s a bad example but bear with me).

Mistake: If I took utter care and did a task mindfully and yet something slipped and went wrong then that would count as a mistake.

E.g. Cooking food like a pro with utter care but realizing at the end that you didn’t add salt. Quite acceptable.

Accident: The stuff that goes wrong despite your utter care and attention, and often leads to a disaster.

For E.g. You do everything right but somehow the cooker blows up and there are rice and tomatoes stuck on the roof.

Now coming to the point

I made a mistake today. This post is to acknowledge that. And I’m glad that it was a mistake, not a blunder.