1
as in encountered
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 found
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 chanced (upon)
Verb
-
Some people taking part in recent walkouts and demonstrations have encountered police skirmish lines, arrests.—
City News Service,
Daily News,
17 Feb. 2026 -
Yet beyond the headline cities and endlessly recycled itineraries lies a quieter, deeper continent; one that’s best encountered through patience and a willingness to detour from the obvious itinerary.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Pietro Loro Piana founded the company as a wool mill in 1924 in the country’s Quarona.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Film and Music Entertainment was founded by Taylor in 2000 and has produced over 75 features with over 120 European production companies, winning multiple awards at Venice, Berlin, Sundance and Cannes.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
If these issues can be addressed/met, then this new battery could have some legs.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Alongside peace talks conducted over the past year, the head of Russia’s state fund has frequently met with Witkoff to discuss massive economic deals including the acquisition of Russian energy assets and rare-earth mines, in exchange for bringing Russia sanctions relief.—
Elizabeth Shackelford,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Chanced (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chanced%20%28upon%29. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
