perchance

adverb

per·​chance pər-ˈchan(t)s 

: perhaps, possibly

Synonyms

• conceivably
• maybe
• mayhap
• perhaps
• possibly

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

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

perchance

adverb

per·​chance pər-ˈchan(t)s 

: perhaps, possibly