Word of the Day

: September 10, 2010

synchronicity

noun sing-kruh-NISS-uh-tee

What It Means

1 : the quality or fact of being simultaneous

2 : the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events

synchronicity in Context

Who could explain the synchronicity of receiving an e-mail from cousin Jane on the very day we stumbled upon pictures from her wedding?

Did You Know?

"It happens to everyone sooner or later: A certain number pops up wherever you go; an old friend you haven't seen in 20 years since high school appears the same day you're looking at her picture in a yearbook; you're singing a song and turn on the radio -- and the same song is playing." Such coincidences, here described by Thomas Ropp in the Arizona Republic, March 29,1999, are examples of synchronicity. The concept is linked to the psychology of Carl Jung. Jung didn't coin the word (the "simultaneousness" sense of "synchronicity" was already in use), but he gave it special importance in his writings. Jung believed that such "meaningful coincidences" play an important role in our lives. Today, some people even look to synchronicities for spiritual guidance.