as in maybe
it is possible perchance he is playing the devil's advocate, and the opinions he has expressed are not actually his own

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 perchance Because any driver worth their salt would figure this out and likely after perchance one time falling into this bit of a roadway trap, would avoid going that way entirely. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021 Ah, to sleep, perchance … to shrink your neural connections? Christopher Wanjek, Scientific American, 3 Feb. 2017 To sleep, perchance to heal A report in the journal Nature Communications adds to the list of sleep’s benefits. Magnus Wennman, National Geographic, 17 June 2019 To sleep, perchance to dream of a giant plate of nachos. Gray Chapman, SELF, 27 Mar. 2019 Its members liked to call themselves kleagles, goblins and other names of darkling potency, to meet in solemn 'konklaves,' burn a fiery cross upon a distant hill and, perchance, frighten a Negro child outnumbered 100 to 1. The Washington Post, AL.com, 10 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perchance
Adverb
  • Perhaps several years ago, maybe your firm was at the center of a controversy.
    Ross Kernez, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • For Sanders, though, the workload will be far heavier — maybe the entire first half.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 7 Aug. 2025
Adverb
  • Guests zoom down the river on a jet boat from Jerry’s Rogue Jets or take to the river in a gentler fashion, kayaking in calm currents, possibly to visit Sheila the harbor seal who generally spends her time on a rock just east of the lodge.
    Laurie Werner, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-90s in the metro, with heat index values above 100 degrees — possibly as high as 105 on Friday.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Aug. 2025
Adverb
  • Along the way, perhaps an answer is being formed that says the user should freak out and run amok about the potential mental health issue.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • But the cars that showed up for the event were perhaps the biggest stars of the day.
    Keenan Thompson, Freep.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Adverb
  • As for what was going through his mind — probably not much in that exact moment.
    Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Falling victim to an Allosaurus attack would probably end in a death by a thousand cuts, each delivered with low power, exerting low stress on the relatively fragile skull of the attacker.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 8 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Perchance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perchance. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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