1
as in to encounter
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
chanced upon my archenemy as I rounded a corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
I chanced upon your mother in the grocery store yesterday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chance (upon)
Verb
-
And yes, any one person who does it might not be encountered often, but the older person may encounter it multiple times (from different people) in the same week.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026 -
The department has encountered legal challenges to the firings.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His understanding of where to be, when to slow the game down and when to speed it up, his ability to show for the ball under pressure and find a team-mate in more space; these are the things that Tottenham have desperately lacked.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Game 2 started echoing Game 1 after halftime, when Towns finally found rhythm and the Knicks looked like the more gifted team all over again.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jokic secured his eligibility for the accolade by playing his 65th game on the last night of the regular season, narrowly meeting the NBA’s quota to appear on awards ballots.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Sam Nunberg, an early campaign aide, met Trump at a wrestling match.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Chance (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chance%20%28upon%29. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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