1
as in luck
the uncertain course of events
rather than leave everything to chance, let's plan how we're going to spend our time in New York City
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in probabilities
a measure of how often an event will occur instead of another
the chance of being struck by lightning is very low
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in gambles
a risky undertaking
it's a chance, but I think the business will be profitable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in risks
to take a chance on
I don't think we should chance driving in this snowstorm
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in happens
to take place
there chanced to be a beautiful day when we were touring that part of Scotland
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chances
Philip Elliott, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
Beck’s overtime interception against SMU essentially doomed UM’s chances.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 5 Nov. 2025
Choose Varieties Suitable for Your Zone Successfully growing lavender starts with selecting the right lavender variety for your hardiness zone to increase the chances that the plant survives the winter and regrows the following year.
—Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Nov. 2025
Rain chances return late Thursday night into early Friday, mainly for areas east of Interstate 35, where the chance of rain ranges from 30% to 50%, the weather service said.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race could be good news for Vice President JD Vance’s chances in the 2028 presidential race, political analysts have told Newsweek.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Stillwater had better scoring chances in the first half, but Abigail McGowan came up big each time, the latter a diving stop to thwart Lawrence.
—Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
The Sharks created several scoring chances to start the second period but trailed 3-0 as both winger Jeff Malott and defenseman Drew Doughty scored even-strength goals, firing wrist shots past the left shoulder of Askarov.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Colorado scored four times on the power play — matching its season total — in six chances.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 29 Oct. 2025
Chris Vannini, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Precipitation chances range from 20-50% depending on the day.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Oct. 2025
Rain chances return in KC’s forecast The chance for rain returns Thursday night and continues into the weekend.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
The festival holds a Conservation Village on site for educational and service-based activations like a virtual shark dive, a trash-drop-off site in exchange for potential prizes, and chances to learn about eco-friendly brands.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
There's some decent rain chances the rest of the week, so keep an umbrella handy.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Rain chances linger for much of the area overnight tonight before tapering off tomorrow afternoon, but any accumulations are expected to be light.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Cloudy, gray weather is expected to persist Thursday, even as the last of the rain chances for these two systems evaporate, Murdock said.
—Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
But Denver bungled five — five — chances to extend their lead to two scores in the second half after taking resounding control of the game in the second half.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
Given chances to replicate his pivots toward moderation on subjects like Wall Street, housing, and policing, Mamdani did not bend on the Middle East.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
Beck’s overtime interception against SMU essentially doomed UM’s chances.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 5 Nov. 2025
Choose Varieties Suitable for Your Zone Successfully growing lavender starts with selecting the right lavender variety for your hardiness zone to increase the chances that the plant survives the winter and regrows the following year.
—Sheryl Geerts, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Nov. 2025
Rain chances return late Thursday night into early Friday, mainly for areas east of Interstate 35, where the chance of rain ranges from 30% to 50%, the weather service said.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race could be good news for Vice President JD Vance’s chances in the 2028 presidential race, political analysts have told Newsweek.
—Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
Stillwater had better scoring chances in the first half, but Abigail McGowan came up big each time, the latter a diving stop to thwart Lawrence.
—Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
The Sharks created several scoring chances to start the second period but trailed 3-0 as both winger Jeff Malott and defenseman Drew Doughty scored even-strength goals, firing wrist shots past the left shoulder of Askarov.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Colorado scored four times on the power play — matching its season total — in six chances.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
But in his fourth season, an LSU team that began the season ranked in the top 10 is once again nowhere close, and Saturday’s loss effectively ended the Tigers’ College Football Playoff chances.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Precipitation chances range from 20-50% depending on the day.
—Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 24 Oct. 2025
Rain chances return in KC’s forecast The chance for rain returns Thursday night and continues into the weekend.
—Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
The festival holds a Conservation Village on site for educational and service-based activations like a virtual shark dive, a trash-drop-off site in exchange for potential prizes, and chances to learn about eco-friendly brands.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2025
There's some decent rain chances the rest of the week, so keep an umbrella handy.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Rain chances linger for much of the area overnight tonight before tapering off tomorrow afternoon, but any accumulations are expected to be light.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Cloudy, gray weather is expected to persist Thursday, even as the last of the rain chances for these two systems evaporate, Murdock said.
—Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
But Denver bungled five — five — chances to extend their lead to two scores in the second half after taking resounding control of the game in the second half.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chances
Noun
-
Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The team dealt with some tough injury luck and never got on a roll.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
For years, younger generations have flocked to big cities for better job opportunities, leaving a dwindling elderly population in rural villages.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
According to Galloway, public resources lead to opportunities, innovation, economic growth, and social mobility.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
This has always been about embracing probabilities, not the luxury of following certainties.—
Sam McDowell
November 4,
Kansas City Star,
4 Nov. 2025
-
But new Silicon Valley companies such as Orchid are taking it one step further, quite literally scraping off genetic material from embryos to allow for a full gamut of embryo comparisons, including disease probabilities but also things like BMI, depression risk, hair color and more.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Lorenz and O’Bryen generally get the songs started as a duo before bringing in bass player Campbell Baum, keyboardist Marco Pini, and drummer Lincoln Barrett to help flesh out their inside jokes and stylistic gambles.—
Simon Vozick-Levinson,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
-
If both of those European gambles hit the jackpot, Virginia could be an absurd value here.—
Jim Root,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
But by open-sourcing them, OpenAI risks sharing the blueprints to those gates.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
-
And today, the world risks another chapter of horror in Sudan as violence engulfs El Fasher.—
David Miliband,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
So what happens if your flight is affected?—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
7 Nov. 2025
-
When this happens, visibilities frequently drop to one-quarter of a mile or less.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The cameras were back 18 years later in very different circumstances, as the disgraced former President set off to begin a five-year sentence at La Santé prison in Paris.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
-
In some circumstances, cultural restrictions or security challenges limit women’s ability to take part in public-facing health activities such as door-to-door vaccination efforts.—
Dr. Tunji Funsho,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And yet, none of these expensive ventures has proven as effective at generating genuine global goodwill as a simple chocolate bar.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The Indie Gaming Boom and Democratization of Development Over the past several years, there has been a sizable uptick in the quantity and quality of independent gaming ventures.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chances.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chances. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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