Definition of CONTINGENT

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Adjective

accidental, fortuitous, casual, contingent mean not amenable to planning or prediction. accidental stresses chance. any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause. a series of fortuitous events casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent. a casual encounter with a stranger contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence. the contingent effects of the proposed law

Examples of contingent in a Sentence

Adjective The isolation and co-optation of the capitalist classes in Germany meant that liberty as an ideal had no contingent link with capitalism, as had happened in Western Europe. — Orlando Patterson, New Republic, 8 Nov. 1999 He knows that the throngs cheering for him today will be cheering for someone else tomorrow, that enthusiasm is fickle, that real support for someone like him always has something completely contingent about it. — Andrew Sullivan, New Republic, 8 July 1996 Clearly the President was chastened by the sorrow and resentment of the people to whom he spoke, but his words were somehow tentative and contingent, as if they could be withdrawn on a month's notice. — Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, July 1992 Every undogmatic historian is aware of the multitude of contingent events that entered into the victory of the Bolshevik revolution. — Sidney Hook, Revolution, Reform & Social Justice, 1975 If the Sovereigns would grant him, contingent on his success, such rank, titles, and property that he and his issue could hold up their heads with the Spanish nobility, well and good … — Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, 1974 Noun Hollywood, Madison Avenue, the FCC, and a growing contingent in corporate America: It's hard to imagine a more formidable alliance pushing segregated television. — Tamar Jacoby, New Republic, 24 Jan. 2000 A Maori contingent, unable to face the intensity of the Turkish fire, sought shelter in a nearby gully. — Martin Gilbert, The First World War, 1994 But just because we banned it [DDT] domestically, under pressure from the bird-watching contingent … it doesn't necessarily follow that the rest of the world was about to jump on the bandwagon. — T. Coraghessan Boyle, Harper's, April 1993 The group that makes up the largest contingent of voters in this area is the elderly. A contingent of reporters waited in front of the court for the defendant to appear. A British contingent was sent to assist the security forces.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The offer was contingent on one other task, which Oscar kept from friends and family. — Jonathan Bullington, courier-journal.com, "One mistake trapped a desperate dad in a Mexican drug cartel's web. Then he vanished," 20 July 2014 Sondland testified that the meeting was contingent on Ukraine investigating 2016 election interference and Burisma, which employed Hunter Biden. — CBS News, "Week 2 of public impeachment hearings: What you need to know about the witnesses," 18 Nov. 2019 HKEx stated in its original offer that the proposal was contingent on LSEG cancelling the Refinitiv deal. — Naomi Xu Elegant, Fortune, "The London Stock Exchange Snubbed Hong Kong’s First Buyout Bid, but the Fight Isn’t Over," 23 Sep. 2019 The report states that the deal is not contingent upon the departure of Danny Rose, who returned to the Spurs squad for the Audi Cup this week. — SI.com, "Tottenham Hopeful of Completing Double Signing Before Transfer Deadline," 2 Aug. 2019 Much of that is contingent upon if Joe Mixon is healthy. — Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bengals should be able to capture first win of the season on Sunday," 14 Sep. 2019 The Northern Lights will be visible Saturday and Sunday evenings (August 31 and Sept 1) although good views are contingent upon location and the intensity of the geomagnetic activity surrounding the sun. — Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, "How to See the Northern Lights This Weekend," 30 Aug. 2019 They can be sent to another club at a price more palatable than two first-rounders, though such deals are typically contingent on the player and the acquiring club agreeing to a framework for a multi-year contract as part of that process. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "NFL franchise tag deadline: What you need to know heading into Monday," 12 July 2019 The Urban League tentatively committed to sponsoring the debate, contingent upon settling additional details, president and CEO David Hopkins said. — Rebecca Lurye, courant.com, "Fox61 cancels tentative plan to televise Hartford mayoral debate after Luke Bronin declined participation, raises questions," 20 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun In northwest Syria’s Afrin, formerly under SDF control in co-operation with Russia, there was a small Yezidi contingent among the majority Kurdish population until Turkey took control of the region in March 2018. — Joseph Hincks, Time, "Yezidis in Iraq and Syria Fear Fresh Persecution After Turkey's Offensive," 24 Oct. 2019 The company is in talks with investment banks about a new $3 billion loan, which would also be contingent on raising a substantial amount of new equity, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg Tuesday. — BostonGlobe.com, "WeWork withdrawing its IPO filing - The Boston Globe," 1 Oct. 2019 WeWork had hoped to raise up to $4 billion from the public offering and up to $6 billion more in bank loans that were contingent on the I.P.O. The new chief executives will now have to perform a delicate dance with investors. — David Gelles, New York Times, "WeWork C.E.O. Adam Neumann Steps Down Under Pressure," 24 Sep. 2019 Although there is a vocal contingent of staunch believers, demand for crypto loans appears to be on the downswing. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "What’s behind the buzz about “decentralized finance”?," 22 Aug. 2019 With them was a contingent of soldiers dedicated to constructing trails and defensive works from a regiment commanded by Lt. — Dan Sweeney, sun-sentinel.com, "What’s the story behind Military Trail and its name? | You asked, we answer," 21 Aug. 2019 That will be contingent on hitting some ambitious savings targets. — Alex Webb | Bloomberg, Washington Post, "This Alpine Lighting Deal Brings an Avalanche of Risk," 13 Aug. 2019 There is a contingent within the Democratic party, and especially among Democratic primary voters, that is desperate to be the most progressive, the most annoyed, the most angry, the most anti-establishment. — Nr Staff, National Review, "A Series of Own Goals," 13 July 2019 All large scale developments in the 3rd Ward are contingent on a robust and intense community engagement process. — Joe Mahr, chicagotribune.com, "‘A red flag’: Developers sought reimbursement for $20,000 in donations to Chicago alderman," 10 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'contingent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for contingent

Adjective

Middle English, borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Medieval Latin contingent-, contingens "dependent on circumstances, occurring by chance," going back to Latin, present participle of contingere "to be in contact with, arrive at, affect, fall to one's lot, come about, happen," from con- con- + tangere "to touch, border on, arrive at, reach" — more at tangent entry 2

Noun

(sense 1) borrowed from French, "portion that falls to one as a return, part given or received in a common effort, body of troops contributed by an ally," noun derivative of contingent, adjective, "falling to someone as a share, dependent, contingent entry 1"; (sense 2) noun derivative of contingent entry 1

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Last Updated

8 Dec 2019

Cite this Entry

“Contingent.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contingent?utm_campaign=sd&utm_medium=serp&utm_source=jsonld. Accessed 10 December 2019.