Synonyms
Examples of contingent in a Sentence
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and resentment of the people to whom he spoke, but his words were somehow tentative and contingent, as if they could be withdrawn on a month's notice.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.
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Sara Dorn, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
The ability of the far right to break into the castle has always been contingent on the center-right establishment lowering the drawbridge.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023
Hezbollah’s pause would be contingent on Israel not attacking Lebanon.
—Adam Chamseddine, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2023
Durbin was the first senator to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, saying on CNN that a cease-fire should be contingent on the release of hostages.
—Sarah Beth Hensley, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
While contingent elections have happened three times in American history, there hasn’t been one for almost two hundred years.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 25 Oct. 2023
Whereas other economic sectors have long cared a lot about how effort is organized, knowledge-work managers, for a combination of historically contingent reasons, have traditionally left these details up to individuals.
—Cal Newport, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2023
In a novella structured like a mix tape and written in the cadence and rhyme scheme of rap lyrics, a dying football star’s resurrection is contingent on limitations to his native abilities.
—Amal El-Mohtar, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023
Productions across television and film have come to a halt in the wake of the strikes, jeopardizing crew members’ access to healthcare plans contingent upon working a minimum number of days to qualify.
—Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Pitchfork, 14 Sep. 2023
Leilani Marie Labong, WSJ, 24 Nov. 2023
But a small contingent of SAG-AFTRA members have been unimpressed with some changes, most specifically, the language surrounding AI and the use of digital replicas.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2023
Brazilian and Argentinian fans started fighting behind one of the goals during the national anthems, prompting police to charge at the traveling contingent with night sticks drawn.
—Reuters, NBC News, 22 Nov. 2023
Among the more than 320 booths are sizable contingents in pavilions from Cambodia, China, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
—Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2023
What has been called ‘New Tone’ brought their contingent to represent as well.
—Heather Augustyn, Spin, 10 Oct. 2023
At least, that’s what a contingent of oldest sisters has been saying online.
—Sarah Sloat, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2023
Losing population and businesses, city leaders worked to turn things around in the 1990s, which coincided with a contingent of Somali refugees’ discovering the city and deciding to resettle here.
—Alex Seitz-Wald, NBC News, 27 Oct. 2023
Unsurprisingly, there was also a heavy fashion contingent, with designer Zac Posen (who was presented with a special dessert to mark his birthday), Brandon Maxwell, Jonathan Cohen, and Markarian’s Alexandra O’Neill all in attendance as well.
—Vogue, 25 Oct. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'contingent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
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
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Noun
1548, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Dictionary Entries Near contingent
Cite this Entry
“Contingent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contingent. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
contingent
1 of 2 adjective
contingent
2 of 2 nounAdjective
Middle English contingent "uncertain," from early French contingent "touching, happening," derived from Latin contingere "to have contact with, affect, happen" — related to contact, contagious
Legal Definition
contingent
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on contingent
Nglish: Translation of contingent for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of contingent for Arabic Speakers
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