Definition of contingencenext
as in possibility
something that might happen the collapse of that nation's economy was one contingence that the architects of the war hadn't planned on

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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 contingence The team had a strong veteran contingence, but none of those veterans had anyone to lead them. Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, 24 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contingence
Noun
  • In June 2023, OpenAI’s Sam Altman dismissed the possibility that a small team with $10 million could build a competitive large language model.
    Steven Wolfe Pereira, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
  • The growing awareness that, even in mild COVID cases, the possibility exists for longer-term, often undetected organ damage also warrants more examination, researchers say.
    Stephanie Armour, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Ball was depicted on social media attending a Senior Bowl event at a local elementary school on Monday, which was publicized by both the Senior Bowl and UA athletics.
    Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 27 Jan. 2026
  • There were almost no literary festivals or bookstore events.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • This is the miracle of our contingency, the human music of our overlap.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Redfin’s report notes that buyers may be using the inspection contingency in purchase agreements as an escape mechanism.
    Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Manhattan prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to set a July trial date in Luigi Mangione's state murder case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, two months before jury selection in his federal death penalty case.
    MICHAEL R. SISAK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026
  • In Short’s case, the flattening is particularly egregious, because the inchoate facts of her life are shoehorned into the obsessions of amateur sleuths who continue to get those facts wrong.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Contingence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contingence. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

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