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Definition of serendipity
: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also : an instance of this
From the M-W Editors
serendipity was our Word of the Day on 02/13/2014. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of serendipity in a Sentence
As they leapfrog from South Africa to Singapore in search of local delicacies, the authors prove again and again that serendipity is the traveler's strongest ally: many of their most memorable meals issue from the hands of generous strangers … —Sarah Karnasiewicz, Saveur, June/July 2008
If reporters fail to keep these files, they seldom luck into bigger stories. Their investigative work typically happens only by design—analyzing the news, for instance—not by serendipity. —Michael J. Bugeja, Editor & Publisher, 13 Jan. 2003
A week earlier, the doctor would have had no recourse but to make an incision in the baby's skin to get to a vein—a precarious option now, since time was running short and it would take nearly half an hour to assemble the necessary equipment. But in an extraordinary bit of serendipity, Hanson had attended a seminar on emergency medical care for children just a week before. —David Ruben, Parenting, December/January 1996
They found each other by pure serendipity.
Recent Examples of serendipity from the Web
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And John is deep into his new second career as a painter, another example of serendipity on the loose.
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Finding the sketches was a matter of serendipity, Childs said.
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President Trump and his family would do well to recognize these gestures as something more than pure serendipity.
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In his acceptance speech, Silvestri told the assemblage about the serendipity of his first film score.
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For wide receiver Tyrrell Boseman, who graduated in 2015, being accepted into Capital Prep seemed like a stroke of serendipity.
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The space — formerly occupied by whimsical soda fountain and New York-export Serendipity 3, which shuttered in January — will be set like the series with a red-team kitchen and a blue-team kitchen.
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Amazon could learn more about that serendipity from its stores, and perhaps find better ways to increase impulse buying online, Hetu says.
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My parents sheltered me from their fears and frustrations, while serendipity seemed to follow us on fairy wings, tapping our foreheads each night with its magic wand.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'serendipity'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Where Does 'Serendipity' Come From?
In the mid-1700s, English author Horace Walpole stumbled upon an interesting tidbit of information while researching a coat of arms. In a letter to his friend Horace Mann he wrote: "This discovery indeed is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word, which as I have nothing better to tell you, I shall endeavor to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called 'The Three Princes of Serendip': as their highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of…." Walpole's memory of the tale (which, as it turns out, was not quite accurate) gave serendipity the meaning it retains to this day.
Origin and Etymology of serendipity
from its possession by the heroes of the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip
SERENDIPITY Defined for English Language Learners
serendipity
playDefinition of serendipity for English Language Learners
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: luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for
Learn More about serendipity
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