circumstance

Syllables: cir·cum·stanceUK/ˈsɜːkəmst(ə)ns//ˈsɝ.kəmˌstæns/

circumstance noun: something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event.

Noun

circumstance (countable and uncountable, plural circumstances)

Something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event.
- The report should focus on to the current circumstances of the organisation, to help us find a way to grow in the future.
- She went missing in somewhat spooky circumstances.
An event; a fact; a particular incident, occurrence, or condition (status).
- I have ſeen Two or Three antique Buſts of Alexander in the ſame Air and Poſture, and am apt to think the Sculptor had in his Thoughts the Conqueror's weeping for new Worlds, or ſome other the like Circumſtance of his History.1705, J[oseph] Addison, “Florence”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c. in the Years 1701, 1702, 1703, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 413
- Then another circumstance happened, which made a lasting impression on my memory, though I was but a small child.1834, David Crockett, chapter I, in A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee. […], Philadelphia, Pa.: E[dward] L[awrence] Carey and A[braham] Hart; Boston, Mass.: Allen &...
(archaic) Evasive or indirect language; circumlocution.
- Right, you are in the right, and therefore / I holde it meet without more circumſtance at all, / Wee ſhake hands and part; […]c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell...
- But he (as louing his owne pride, and purpoſes) / Euades them, with a bumbaſt Circumſtance, / Horribly ſtufft with Epithites of warre,c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
Condition in regard to worldly estate; state of property; situation; surroundings.
- She was born into comfortable circumstances.
- When men are eaſy in their circumſtances, they are naturally enemies to innovations: […]1716 May 24 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 42. Sunday, May 14. [1716.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob...

Verb

circumstance (third-person singular simple present circumstances, present participle circumstancing, simple past and past participle circumstanced)

To place in a particular situation, especially with regard to money or other resources.
- Frank muttered something. Tidings had in some shape reached his ears that his father was not comfortably circumstanced as regarded money.1858, Anthony Trollope, “Matrimonial Prospects”, in Doctor Thorne. […], volume I, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 184
- While also taxing Ferrein with the same motives, Diderot's account of his doings is much more circumstanced than La Mettrie's, and also much more amusing, thanks to the interpolation of the «bijoux» motif.1949, Diderot Studies, volume 11, page 170

circumstance meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

circumstance in Hindi

that which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event: परिस्थिति paristhiti
event; fact; particular incident: प्रसंग prasaṅg

circumstance in Tamil

சூழ்நிலை, சூழல்

circumstance in Urdu

that which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event: حال hāl, حالات hālāt

circumstance in Bengali

that which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event: পরিস্থিতি poristhiti, আওকাত aōkat, হালত halot

More languagesFewer languages

circumstance in Telugu: సంగతి saṅgati
circumstance in Malayalam: സാഹചര്യം sāhacaryaṁ
circumstance in Kannada: ಸಂದರ್ಭ, ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶ, ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿ, ವಾಸ್ತವಾಂಶ
circumstance in Gujarati: સંજોગ sañjog
circumstance in Arabic: حَالَة ḥāla, ظَرْف ẓarf
circumstance in Malay: keadaan
circumstance in Persian: حال hâl, حالات hâlât, وضعیت vaz'iyyat, شرایط šarâyet
circumstance in Thai: กรณี gɔɔ-rá-nii, สถานการณ์ sà-tǎa-ná-gaan
circumstance in Vietnamese: hoàn cảnh
circumstance in Myanmar: အခြေအနေ a.hkrea.ne

Examples of circumstance in a sentence

A victim of circumstance.
She performed well under/in/given the circumstances.
The circumstances are well known in the country where they happened.1819, Washington Irving, The Broken Heart:
The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved.1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace, →OL:
You put vs to a needeleſſe labour ſir, / To runne and winde about for circumſtance, / When the plaine word, I thanke you, would have ſeru'd.1614, John Cooke, Greene's Tu Quoque, London: John Trundle, page 83:

All 40 example sentences with circumstance

Synonyms of circumstance

Forms of circumstance

Noun
plural	circumstances
alternative form (obsolete)	circumstaunce
Verb
third-person singular present	circumstances
present participle	circumstancing
past participle	circumstanced
past	circumstanced

Plural of circumstance: circumstances

Origin of circumstance

From Middle English circumstaunce, from Old French circonstance, from Latin circumstantia.

Words formed from circumstance

Questions about circumstance

What does circumstance mean?: Circumstance means something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event.
What is circumstance in Hindi?: Circumstance in Hindi is परिस्थिति (paristhiti), प्रसंग (prasaṅg). See Circumstance meaning in Hindi.
How do you use circumstance in a sentence?: A victim of circumstance.
What part of speech is circumstance?: Circumstance can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce circumstance?: Circumstance is pronounced /ˈsɜːkəmst(ə)ns/ (UK).
What is the plural of circumstance?: The plural of circumstance is circumstances.

Words near circumstance in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: circumstance (page history and authors); circumstance (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); సంగతి (Telugu) (page history and authors); സാഹചര്യം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); circumstance (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); સંજોગ (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-circumstance.ogg.

Cite this entry: “circumstance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/circumstance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.