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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Recent Examples of happenstance
Farmer said that implies the lack of grocery stores or healthy food access is happenstance.
—
La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, Nashville resident Brittani Logsdon said her Iceland trip was the result of a happenstance and spontaneity.
—Hadley Hitson, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Jessica Francis Kane on Penelope Fitzgerald, Hermione Lee, and authorial happenstance.
—Lit Hub Daily, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
The swim began July 26 at the spot in the water where the freighter’s journey ended, 17 miles northwest of the Whitefish Point lighthouse, which in fatal happenstance was inoperable the night of the ship’s sinking.
—John Carlisle, Freep.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happenstance
La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Meanwhile, Nashville resident Brittani Logsdon said her Iceland trip was the result of a happenstance and spontaneity.
—Hadley Hitson, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Jessica Francis Kane on Penelope Fitzgerald, Hermione Lee, and authorial happenstance.
—Lit Hub Daily, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
The swim began July 26 at the spot in the water where the freighter’s journey ended, 17 miles northwest of the Whitefish Point lighthouse, which in fatal happenstance was inoperable the night of the ship’s sinking.
—John Carlisle, Freep.com, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for happenstance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for happenstance
Noun
-
Potential adversaries interpret political action in zero-sum terms; see malice and evil design in mere blunders and coincidence; trumpet necessity rather than navigate choice; and, in extreme cases, invent pretext or promise profit to make more palatable a dubious cause.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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Several dismissed the Annabelle-Nottoway meme as a wild, albeit entertaining conspiracy theory; her presence in the area was rendered a mere coincidence.—
Essence,
Essence,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And yet, that offers little to no comfort in the face of such catastrophic circumstances.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The cameras were back 18 years later in very different circumstances, as the disgraced former President set off to begin a five-year sentence at La Santé prison in Paris.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Happenstance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/happenstance. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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