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circumstance definition

cir·cum·stance (sʉr′kəm stans′, -stəns)

noun

  1. a fact or event accompanying another, either incidentally or as an essential condition or determining factor circumstances alter cases
  2. any happening or fact; event
  3. conditions surrounding and affecting a person, esp. financial conditions in comfortable circumstances
  4. chance; luck circumstance would have it so
  5. ceremony; show pomp and circumstance
    1. accompanying or surrounding detail
    2. fullness of detail

Etymology: OFr < L circumstantia, a standing around, condition < circumstare < circum, around + stare, stand

transitive verb circumstanced -·stanced′, circumstancing -·stanc′·ing

to place in certain circumstances

Related Forms:

circumstance Idioms

under no circumstances

under no conditions; never

under the circumstances

conditions being what they are or were

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms circumstance idiom

law circumstance definition - legal

circumstance Synonyms

circumstance

n.

  1. An attendant condition

    situation, condition, contingency, phase, factor, detail, item, fact, case, place, time, cause, state, status, element, particular, feature, point, incident, proviso, article, stipulation, concern, matter, thing, event, adjunct, occurrence, juncture, exigency, intervention, supervention, fortuity, coincidence, concurrent event, chance, happenstance*; see also state 2.

  2. An occurrence

    event, episode, happening, incident; see event 1. See syn. study at occurrence.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

circumstance Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • extenuate: No evidence was presented to suggest cause or extenuating circumstances.

Adjective modifier

  • exceptional: Only exceptional circumstances justify starting a claim in the High Court.

Modifies a noun

  • change: As circumstances change, the papers will be updated and published on the ABPI's website.

Noun used with modifier

  • family: Adult learning refund policy Once a course has begun, we will only consider refund requests in exceptional personal or family circumstances.

Possessives

  • borrower: One is that technology allows lenders to make a more accurate assessment of a borrower's circumstances, for example, through credit scoring.

Preposition: of

  • case: Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case; laws are constantly changing.
circumstance usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

circumstance quotes

Shewouldnot havehimreallysuspect suchacircumstance as her not being thought perfect byevery body.

-Austen,Jane

Art and Religion are, then, two roads by which men escape from circumstance to ecstasy.

-Bell, (Arthur) Clive Howard

In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud: Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody but unbowed.

-Henley,W(illiam) E(rnest)

circumstance quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"circumstance." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/circumstance>

APA Style

circumstance. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/circumstance

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