Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A chance circumstance: "Marriage loomed only as an outgrowth of happenstance; you met a person” ( Bruce Weber).
Wiktionary
- n. countable A chance or random event or circumstance.
- n. uncountable The chance or random quality of an event or circumstance.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental
Etymologies
- Blend of happening and circumstance. (Wiktionary)
- happen + (circum)stance. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I won’t tell you the main happenstance, because that twist IS the plot … but …. you’ll recognize it too.”
“The saying " If....were better I would be okay" has come to sum up a dependence on "happenstance" to bring me or others a sense of well being, okay-ness, safety or joy.”
“The impression on an anti-Semite or potential anti-Semite is that the 'happenstance' of his vet status saves him from being rightfully obliterated.”
Caught in the Crossfire: Adrian Scott and the Politics of Americanism in 1940s Hollywood
“While I liked both Gwen and Harry, their relationship - with a 20-year age gap and a failed marriage each - did seem "happenstance," almost as though they ended up together because they were the only two left to get out of Yellowknife relatively unscathed.”
“When reached for comment, Adam L a/k/a clammyc noted that the timing of this post was merely "happenstance". by: you @ soon”
“Ms. Jarrett told the crowd that this economic crisis did not occur by "happenstance" but is the result of our "profound irresponsibility.”
Capitol Hill Blue - The oldest political news site on the Internet
“Using government money on a vast scale to keep the financial markets working, then to save the automobile industry from bankruptcy, has edged the Bush administration deep into a kind of happenstance socialism.”
“The word karcha comes from the word mikreh - "happenstance”
“He said he didn't want to call it "happenstance" but "we did a lot of things right.”
“happenstance" manner that haunts so many ensemble pieces.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘happenstance’.
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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select words
luminous, radiant, malicious, zeal, ojalá, voluptuary, rubbish, purlicue, consarnit, upstart, precis, robinsonade and 66 more...
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happenstance
happenstance
newton, oops, klutz, chance meeting, fluke, fortuity, happenchance, eureka, happenstance, ka, kismet, serendipitous and 11 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 2369 more... -
Words Covered in Faery Dust (H)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
haberdashery, hailstone, halcyon, halibut, halo, hamadryad, hammock, harangue, harbour, harebell, harlequin, harp and 104 more...
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Junk
walrus, fascination, broadway, fickle, downturn, bridge, gargle, rotunda, mesh, fab, shortlife, strumming and 304 more...
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slumry's Words
cattywampus, ingratiate, lackadaisical, exactitude, exfoliate, fulminate, circumnavigation, circuitous, debride, sidle, sequester, chicory and 1002 more...
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tree's Words
aphasia, anhedonia, promontory, misandry, amanuensis, asymptote, penultimate, muslin, tundra, calico, kinaesthesia, rutabaga and 209 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, H
hurlyburly, hurtle, hodgepodge, heartwood, hatch, halo, hooptedoodle, hacienda, hairpin, heyday, hardscrabble, hopper and 208 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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Predictionary
EXPECTED vs. SURPRISE
aberration, exception, spontaneous, synchronicity, startle, waylay, prophecy, zemblanity, inadvertent, atavism, sui generis, anomaly and 127 more...
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Dain's Words
rabble, terminus, archaic, atavism, demiurge, waylay, syzygy, jocoserious, quark, entropy, cinnabar, shamble and 912 more...
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cloudjuice's Words
schadenfreude, sordid, promulgate, erratic, erroneous, amalgamate, sesquipedalian, incongruous, psychosis, etymology, simulacrum, serendipity and 988 more...
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A Myriad of Irii
Iris varieties.
abbondanza, abiqua falls, about town, above the clouds, acadian miss, acapulco gold, act of kindness, adoregon, aegean wind, afternoon in rio, aggressively forward, agua fresca and 721 more...
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List of words to expand my vocabulary
does what it says on the tin, and is severely needed.
indolent, insolent, idly, divulge, tattle, benign, roguish, daintily, idle, dowdy, sordid, wanton and 242 more...
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some of my favorites
some of my favorite words
tintinnabulation, lascivious, ontology, chthonic, eldritch, squamous, verity, specificity, euphony, cacophony, therianthrope, morbidity and 157 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for happenstance.
Telofy “You can expect to see this word about twice a year.�? – Wordnik
Wow, I had thought it was fairly common until I noticed that it was even missing from one of my dictionaries. But it's so useful. Sep 22, 2009