circumstance

1 a state or end that seemingly has been decided beforehand the condemned murderer seemed indifferent to his circumstance Synonyms fate, destiny, doom, fortune, kismet, lot, portionRelated Words accident, casualty [archaic], chance, hap, happenchance, happenstance, hazard, luck; predestination; aftereffect, aftermath, conclusion, consequence, development, effect, fruit, issue, outcome, outgrowth, result, resultant, sequel, sequence, upshot

2 something that happens due to unexpected circumstances, the test will be postponed Synonyms affair, event, episode, hap, happening, incident, occasion, occurrence, thingRelated Words coincidence, co-occurrence, fluke, freak; landmark, milepost, milestone, page, phenomenon, turning point; adventure, experience, time; happenchance, happenstance; accident, crisis, emergency, juncture; achievement, deed, exploit, feat; news, tidings

3 the uncertain course of events I was a victim of circumstance, for nothing that I could have done would have made a difference Synonyms accident, casualty [archaic], chance, hap, hazard, luckRelated Words fortuitousness, fortuity, haphazardry, randomness, uncertainty; fluke, happenchance, happenstance; destiny, doom, fate, fortune, lot; danger, peril, riskNear Antonyms intent, intention, purpose; design, outline, plan, scheme