chancy

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 Lifelong recommendations based on studies of roughly 50 patients and for no longer than three months seem a bit chancy. WSJ, 13 Sep. 2018 The early concerts have had a biting, chancy energy. New York Times, 21 June 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 The point is that reporting on alleged facts that won’t take place for a decade or more in the future is chancy at best. Ed Wallace, star-telegram, 14 July 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
  • There has been nothing fortuitous about ‘nilling’ five opponents, either.
    Chris Waugh, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
  • While the symbolism may seem fortuitous, an infestation of ladybugs in your home can be a pain.
    Patricia S York, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Craftsman-style bungalow was originally built in the 1940s and withstood several haphazard additions and renovations before Haury and Saikami got their hands on it.
    Linne Halpern, Architectural Digest, 15 Oct. 2025
  • OpenAI’s messaging was haphazard to Hollywood.
    Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Legalized betting has certain security advantages in that unusual betting patterns — such as large bets being placed on a random player’s performance — can be immediately flagged.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Still, a player ascending from top-15 or top-10-ish status in the league to a legit MVP candidate is arguably an even more difficult, more challenging and vertiginous jump than making the leap from random scrub to solid starter.
    John Hollinger, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Past outages on this scale have been caused by a wide variety of errors, including faulty updates, the accidental injection of bad code, or a change to third-party software that doesn’t play nicely with a service.
    Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
  • In the caption of her Instagram post, King revealed that the accidental encounter went better than some might think.
    Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • While defending in front of the Minnesota net, an inadvertent high stick caught Eriksson Ek in the face.
    Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Pally goes with the flow as well as anyone, which puts an interviewer at ease — as that’s when inadvertent insults can happen.
    Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And, those costs are not always incidental, particularly with pickups.
    Kathy Kristof, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Gestures, colloquialisms, facial expressions, local cuisine, and the like are not incidental to a tongue but constitute it; sometimes, to capture a word or phrase, in writing or in an algorithm, is to stamp out its meaning.
    Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • No surviving on lucky bounces and better health.
    Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Even luckier, a well-rounded preppy wardrobe doesn’t have to break the bank.
    Francesca Krempa, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Yet his unplanned role in a major case underscores a broader question about how ordinary citizens become symbolic litigants in disputes that may redefine the nation’s voting-rights landscape.
    Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • An unplanned collaboration between two filmmakers that transcends mortality, exploring whimsical and existential questions as well as the intersection of mental health and creativity.
    Addie Morfoot, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Chancy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chancy. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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