Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

circumstance

Syllabification: (cir·cum·stance)
Pronunciation: /ˈsərkəmˌstans, -stəns/

Translate circumstance | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of circumstance

noun

  • 1 (usually circumstances) a fact or condition connected with or relevant to an event or action:we wanted to marry but circumstances didn’t permit
  • an event or fact that causes or helps to cause something to happen, typically something undesirable:he was found dead but there were no suspicious circumstances they were thrown together by circumstance
  • 2one’s state of financial or material welfare:the artists are living in reduced circumstances

Phrases

under no circumstances

never, whatever the situation is or might be:under no circumstances may the child be identified

under (or in) the circumstances

given the difficult nature of the situation:she had every right to be angry under the circumstances

Derivatives

circumstanced

adjective

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French circonstance or Latin circumstantia, from circumstare 'encircle, encompass', from circum 'around' + stare 'stand'

circumstance in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of circumstance in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More results for circumstance

Result list for circumstance

Word of the day

secretagogue

/ sɪˈkriːtəgɒg /
noun
a substance which promotes secretion …