perchance

adverb

per·​chance pər-ˈchan(t)s How to pronounce perchance (audio)

Example Sentences

“To sleep: perchance to dream…” Shakespeare, Hamlet perchance he is playing the devil's advocate, and the opinions he has expressed are not actually his own
Recent Examples on the Web Because any driver worth their salt would figure this out and likely after perchance one time falling into this bit of a roadway trap, would avoid going that way entirely. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021 Ah, to sleep, perchance … to shrink your neural connections? Christopher Wanjek, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2017 To sleep, perchance to heal A report in the journal Nature Communications adds to the list of sleep’s benefits. Magnus Wennman, National Geographic, 17 June 2019 To sleep, perchance to dream of a giant plate of nachos. Gray Chapman, SELF, 27 Mar. 2019 Its members liked to call themselves kleagles, goblins and other names of darkling potency, to meet in solemn 'konklaves,' burn a fiery cross upon a distant hill and, perchance, frighten a Negro child outnumbered 100 to 1. The Washington Post, AL.com, 10 Apr. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perchance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English parchaunce, from Anglo-French par chance, by chance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of perchance was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near perchance

Cite this Entry

“Perchance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perchance. Accessed 10 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

perchance

adverb
per·​chance pər-ˈchan(t)s How to pronounce perchance (audio)

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