Circumstance Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

1 : a condition or fact that affects a situation I can't imagine a circumstance in/under which I would do that. · 2 : the way something happens : the specific ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut circumstance noun SaveWord cir·​cum·​stance |\ˈsər-kəm-ˌstan(t)s ,-stən(t)s\ EssentialMeaningofcircumstance 1 :aconditionorfactthataffectsasituation Ican'timagineacircumstancein/underwhichIwoulddothat. 2 :thewaysomethinghappens:thespecificdetailsofanevent Thecircumstancesofhisdeatharesuspicious. 3 :aneventorsituationthatyoucannotcontrol Shesaysthatherclientisavictimofcircumstanceandshouldnotbeblamedfortheaccident.Hewasavictimofcircumstances. FullDefinitionofcircumstance 1a :acondition,fact,oreventaccompanying,conditioning,ordetermininganother:anessentialorinevitableconcomitant theweatherisacircumstancetobetakenintoconsideration b :asubordinateoraccessory(seeaccessoryentry2sense2)factordetail costisaminorcircumstanceinthiscase c :apieceofevidencethatindicatestheprobabilityorimprobabilityofanevent(suchasacrime) thecircumstanceofthemissingweapontoldagainsthimthecircumstancessuggestmurder 2a :thesumofessentialandenvironmentalfactors(asofaneventorsituation) constantandrapidchangeineconomiccircumstance—G.M.Trevelyan b :stateofaffairs:eventuality openrebellionwasararecircumstance —oftenusedinpluralavictimofcircumstances c circumstancesplural :situationwithregardtowealth hewasineasycircumstancesrosefromdifficultcircumstances 3 :attendantformalitiesandritualisticdisplayespeciallyascontrastedwithessentialprocedure pride,pomp,andcircumstanceofgloriouswar—WilliamShakespeare 4 :aneventthatconstitutesadetail(asofanarrativeorcourseofevents) consideringeachcircumstanceinturn Synonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutcircumstance Synonymsforcircumstance Synonyms destiny, doom, fate, fortune, kismet, lot, portion VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforcircumstance occurrence,event,incident,episode,circumstancemeansomethingthathappensortakesplace.occurrencemayapplytoahappeningwithoutintent,volition,orplan. anencounterthatwasachanceoccurrence eventusuallyimpliesanoccurrenceofsomeimportanceandfrequentlyonehavingantecedentcause. theeventsfollowingtheassassination incidentsuggestsanoccurrenceofbriefdurationorsecondaryimportance. aminorwartimeincident episodestressesthedistinctivenessorapartnessofanincident. abriefromanticepisodeinalifedevotedtowork circumstanceimpliesaspecificdetailattendinganactionoreventaspartofitssettingorbackground. couldn'trecalltheexactcircumstances ExamplesofcircumstanceinaSentence Ican'timagineacircumstanceinwhichIwoulddothat. Thecircumstancesofhisdeatharesuspicious. Shesaysthatherclientisavictimofcircumstanceandshouldnotbeblamedfortheaccident. Hewasavictimofcircumstances. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Somecommitteememberswereblunt,sayingthereshouldbenocircumstancewherepregnantwomenshouldbegiventhedrug. — NBCNews,30Nov.2021 Shehadbeenneglected,whichisalessawfulcircumstanceinthesadhierarchyofanimalmistreatment. — GeneWeingarten,WashingtonPost,8Nov.2021 Butanythinglessthan$300millionintotalvalueonacontractof10-12yearswouldbeanabsolutebargainfortheteamthatsignsCorrea—whichisquiteacircumstance. — NewYorkTimes,5Nov.2021 ThathasneverbeentheintentionofanyOHSAAstategolftournament,andagainwasnotthecircumstancehere. — AlexHarrison,TheEnquirer,4Nov.2021 Standing6-foot-7andweighing287pounds,Buckner’shardtomissinanycircumstance,butafterthedefensivetacklewentdownandstayedtherelateinthesecondquarter,LucasOilstadiumhadtoholditsbreath. — AndyYamashita,TheIndianapolisStar,28Nov.2021 That'swhatotherpoliticianshavedoneinthiscircumstance. — SoniaMoghe,CNN,10Nov.2021 Leadership,aconceptpreviouslyalientomanagementthatemphasizedhumanagencyoverinstitutionalmechanisms,thusbeganitslong-standingroleasanindispensablerequirementforanyorganizationinanycircumstance. — EsadeBusiness&LawSchool,Forbes,8Nov.2021 Inanycircumstance,acourtcasecannotberuledout. — BillShaikin,LosAngelesTimes,1Nov.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'circumstance.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofcircumstance 13thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforcircumstance MiddleEnglish,fromAnglo-French,fromLatincircumstantia,fromcircumstant-,circumstans,presentparticipleofcircumstaretostandaround,fromcircum-+staretostand—moreatstand LearnMoreAboutcircumstance Sharecircumstance PosttheDefinitionofcircumstancetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofcircumstanceonTwitter TimeTravelerforcircumstance Thefirstknownuseofcircumstancewas inthe13thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearcircumstance circumspectness circumstance circumstanced SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtocircumstance circumstancesbeyondsomeone'scontrol forceofcircumstance(s) giventhecircumstances Statisticsforcircumstance LastUpdated 24Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Circumstance.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/circumstance.Accessed2Jan.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforcircumstance circumstance noun cir·​cum·​stance |\ˈsər-kəm-ˌstans \ KidsDefinitionofcircumstance 1 :afactoreventthataffectsasituation Illnessistheonlycircumstancethatwillexcuseyourabsence. 2 circumstancesplural :conditionsatacertaintimeorplace Underthecircumstances,Ithinkwedidwell. 3 circumstancesplural :thewaysomethinghappens Pleaseexplainthecircumstancesoftheaccident. 4 circumstancesplural :theconditionsinwhichsomeonelives "WhentheLordputsusincertaincircumstancesHedoesn'tmeanforustoimaginethemaway."—LucyMaudMontgomery,AnneofGreenGables 5 :anuncontrollableeventorsituation avictimofcircumstance circumstance noun cir·​cum·​stance Legal Definitionofcircumstance 1a :acondition,fact,oreventaccompanying,conditioning,ordetermininganother muststatewithparticularitythecircumstancesconstitutingfraudormistake—FederalRulesofCivilProcedureRule9(b) b :apieceofevidencethatindicatestheprobabilityorimprobabilityofanevent astatement…offeredtoexculpatetheaccusedisnotadmissibleunlesscorroboratingcircumstancesclearlyindicatethetrustworthinessofthestatement—Statev.Lopez,764P.2d1111(1988) 2 plural :situationwithregardtowealth thecircumstancesofthepartiesbeforethedivorce MorefromMerriam-Websteroncircumstance Nglish:TranslationofcircumstanceforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofcircumstanceforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutcircumstance WORDOFTHEDAY captious SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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