CHANCY Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

chancy

adjective

Definition of chancy

as in chance

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of chancy Actions that seemed foolhardy when Rue was younger now come off as merely chancy, with Zendaya imparting enough hard-knock experience to pull off bigger swings. — Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026 Most storms occur in the summer months when the subtropical climate is at its most humid, making August’s Perseid meteor shower a chancier time to visit. — Sheeka Sanahori, Outside, 11 Nov. 2025 Lifelong recommendations based on studies of roughly 50 patients and for no longer than three months seem a bit chancy. — WSJ, 13 Sep. 2018 In a curious twist, Gunderson takes the story in an extremely chancy direction during the show’s final minutes. — David Lyman, Cincinnati.com, 14 Apr. 2018 In the 4500 block of Connecticut Avenue NW, Jeff Lucas watched a driver plow through the brown and turbulent waters in what had momentarily seemed to be a chancy undertaking. — Martin Weil, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2017 Steve Jobs was making what was at the time an extraordinarily chancy wager. — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, 23 June 2017 George Washington's chancy nighttime retreat from Brooklyn to Manhattan was a kind of Colonial-era Dunkirk. — Benedict Cosgrove, Smithsonian, 13 Mar. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chancy

Adjective

The six-year delay turned out to be fortuitous, according to cocurator Stéphanie Cantarutti.

— Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
After signing the lease for her new Clifford Street flagship in London‘s Mayfair, Jennifer Chamandi discovered a fortuitous connection.

— Katie Abel, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of fortuitous

Adjective

After that, Grace all but disappears from Crystal Lake, exposing the haphazard plotting of a show that refuses to commit.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Violent crime, once almost unknown on the island, is rising sharply—another sign of the state’s haphazard retreat.

— Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of haphazard

Adjective

The audit, released Monday, identified a host of issues, including regulators’ failure to meet regular inspection schedules or to conduct sufficient random checks at dispensaries for contaminated products.

— Christopher Osher, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
There is nothing truly random about whether a coin comes up heads or tails.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of random

Adjective

The cynic would say their aims are financial, and the outcomes in education are merely incidental to that end.

— Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
But then the story stalls, zeroes in on some incidental detail, and collapses into a mode of reflection that is circular and recursive.

— Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of incidental

Adjective

And those who got to watch the live show of Cardi with her band, which delivered a sumptuous rock and jazz-tinged take on her tracks, can consider themselves among the lucky few.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2026
Steichen would be lucky to finish out the season barring a change of direction by his team.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026