as in coincidence
formal + literary
something that happens by chance
Our meeting was pure happenstance. We met each other by happenstance.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of happenstance
In that sense, the achievement of AGI or ASI is merely a happenstance along the way.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
The timing of the expulsions, particularly of the ICRC, is not happenstance.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
But, honestly, nothing about this show has been happenstance.
—Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2025
And one benefit of a plot built on relentlessly surreal happenstance is that eventually every new plot development starts to feel like a twist — because nothing is predetermined, and rationality and rigor have already gone out the window.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happenstance
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
The timing of the expulsions, particularly of the ICRC, is not happenstance.
—Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
But, honestly, nothing about this show has been happenstance.
—Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2025
And one benefit of a plot built on relentlessly surreal happenstance is that eventually every new plot development starts to feel like a twist — because nothing is predetermined, and rationality and rigor have already gone out the window.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happenstance
Cite this Entry
“Happenstance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happenstance. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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