happenstance
noun
hap·pen·stance
| \ ˈha-pən-ˌstan(t)s
, ˈha-pᵊm-\
, ˈha-pᵊm-\
Definition of happenstance
: a circumstance especially that is due to chance
They came together by mere happenstance.
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Examples of happenstance in a Sentence
Our meeting was pure happenstance.
We met each other by happenstance.
It was an agreeable happenstance that we met.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Chance, impulse, happenstance: this is how life unfolds in the world of Raymond and Cécile. — Rachel Cusk, The New Yorker, "Françoise Sagan, the Great Interrogator of Morality," 21 Aug. 2019 The personal trainer’s ex-wife, Amy Lankford, and her father, Jim Pratte, discovered the fraud by happenstance and reported it to regulators and the insurers for years. — Marshall Allen, ProPublica, "Senators Call for Closing “Loopholes” That Make Health Care Fraud Easy," 14 Aug. 2019 Indeed, McCullough himself discovered much of that history quite by happenstance. — John Daniel Davidson, National Review, "Founders of the Frontier: David McCullough Discovers Ohio’s Puritan Pioneers," 11 July 2019 For all the time spent planning, so much of life comes down to happenstance. — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, "Opinion: US women's soccer reaping benefits of what England started with coach Jill Ellis," 1 July 2019 Every mundane happenstance in the lives of Gigi and Bella Hadid has become tabloid fodder at some point. — Glamour, "A Tabloid Called the Hadids’ Books ‘Hot Accessories’ and People Have Thoughts," 21 Mar. 2019 Completed in 1913, the nation’s first curvilinear bridge earned that distinction almost by happenstance. — Matthew Segal, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Complicated Case of the Colorado Street Bridge," 18 June 2018 Spider-Man is a victim of happenstance and a radioactive spider. — Michael Harriot, The Root, "Whiteness Is a Superpower," 15 June 2018 Some find those second chances in retirement, others in midcareer; some out of frustration, others by happenstance. — Ana Veciana-suarez, miamiherald, "Encore careers prove that people may find talent in unexpected places later in life | Miami Herald," 23 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'happenstance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for happenstance
happenstance
noun
English Language Learners Definition of happenstance
formal + literary
: something that happens by chance
See the full definition for happenstance in the English Language Learners Dictionary