contingent 1 of 2

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as in delegation
a body of persons chosen as representatives of a larger group the local Scout troop traditionally sends a large contingent to the jamboree

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in possibility
something that might happen officials in charge of managing the national emergency tried to prepare for every contingent, no matter how improbable

Synonyms & Similar Words

contingent

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adjective

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective contingent differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of contingent are accidental, casual, and fortuitous. While all these words mean "not amenable to planning or prediction," contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence.

the contingent effects of the proposed law

When could accidental be used to replace contingent?

The synonyms accidental and contingent are sometimes interchangeable, but accidental stresses chance.

any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental

When would casual be a good substitute for contingent?

While the synonyms casual and contingent are close in meaning, casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent.

a casual encounter with a stranger

When might fortuitous be a better fit than contingent?

Although the words fortuitous and contingent have much in common, fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause.

a series of fortuitous events

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 contingent
Noun
Evolutionary biologists have tended to view each of these transitions as a contingent event. Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025 Through a reproducibility lens, students evaluate claims in published studies as contingent on the transparency and soundness of the evidence and analysis on which the claims are based. Richard Ball, The Conversation, 5 June 2025
Adjective
For a contingent of viewers, Stick primarily went wrong with the introduction of the Zero character, played by Lilli Kay (Your Honor). Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2025 Since the late 1940s, U.S. deployments on the continent ensured that the United States would be the first to join the fight and would supply the largest contingent of forces. Jennifer Lind, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for contingent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contingent
Noun
  • President Lai's Beijing-skeptic administration is expected to continue sending Taiwanese delegations overseas to shore up ties with friendly countries.
    Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025
  • Clarity in delegation creates confidence in execution.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Noun
  • In terms of the Flyers’ willingness to move some of their cache of draft picks, Brière didn’t sound all that sure about that possibility, either.
    Arpon Basu, New York Times, 21 June 2025
  • But the defending champions feel no need to panic — even before the team’s upcoming four-game, 10-day roadtrip with the possibility of not having Jonquel Jones available for it.
    Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • The prime time talent show is once again ruining our viewing of acts by constantly cutting in reaction shots of the audience, hosts and random people.
    Ticked Off, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 June 2025
  • There is also the potential random hijacking of energy cargoes in the Strait, which has precedent.
    Gaurav Sharma, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
Adjective
  • The March flight failed in similar fashion, but SpaceX's investigators determined the most probable root cause was a hardware failure in one of the ship's engines, a different failure mode than two months before.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 19 June 2025
  • For his next act, Bill Zito tries something else no one thought possible, financially practical or any-which-way probable.
    Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 19 June 2025
Adjective
  • With funding dependent on how many pupils attend, the school’s finances were pressured.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 25 June 2025
  • Spouses and dependent children of service members enrolled in SGLI.
    Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • My love for Native natural deodorant is very much conditional.
    Laura Harold, Outside Online, 14 June 2025
  • FedEx applied for a conditional use permit to allow parking of semi-trucks and trailers on a 9-acre lot at 4700 Martin St. in Southeast Fort Worth, near Loop 820.
    Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 June 2025
Noun
  • If there was any doubt that Cooper Flagg would be the first player selected in the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday night, it was dispelled within minutes of the event kicking off.
    Justin Birnbaum, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
  • This sequence of events prompted many fans and pundits to speculate about potential conspiracy theories about how and why Dallas got the pick despite having such low odds for it.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • Today’s Canadian nationalism, by contrast, arises from darker and more practical concerns.
    Stephen Marche, The Atlantic, 1 July 2025
  • Sierra Designs recently updated their award-winning Mobile Mummy, a practical and comfortable wearable sleeping bag originally released in 2014.
    Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

Cite this Entry

“Contingent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contingent. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

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