Word.ws English Dictionary

happenstance

/ˈhap(ə)nˌstɑːns/US/ˈhæpənˌstæns/

happenstance noun: the chance or random quality of an event or circumstance.

Noun

happenstance (countable and uncountable, plural happenstances)

  1. (uncountable) The chance or random quality of an event or circumstance.
    • by happenstance
    • Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.1964, Goldfinger, spoken by James Bond (Sean Connery)
  2. (countable) A chance or random event or circumstance.
    • Our meeting today was a happenstance, but I'm glad we crossed paths.
    • the happenstances of life

happenstance meaning in Tamil

happenstance in Tamil

தற்செயலான நிகழ்வு

Examples of happenstance in a sentence

  • Dammit, man this is the gift from God / This ain't happenstance2001, “People Talkin'”, in MTV Unplugged, performed by Jay-Z:
  • So the orthography of many of our words is the result of a mere happenstance[…]1855 March 31, “Sketch of Mr William Denton's Address at the Ohio State Phonetic Institution, 29th December, 1854”, in The Phonetic...

Synonyms of happenstance

Forms of happenstance

pluralhappenstances

Origin of happenstance

Blend of happening + circumstance. Attested from 1855 in US publications.

Words formed from happenstance

Questions about happenstance

What does happenstance mean?
Happenstance means the chance or random quality of an event or circumstance.
What is happenstance in Tamil?
Happenstance in Tamil is தற்செயலான நிகழ்வு. See Happenstance meaning in Tamil.
How do you use happenstance in a sentence?
Dammit, man this is the gift from God / This ain't happenstance
What part of speech is happenstance?
Happenstance is a noun.
How do you pronounce happenstance?
Happenstance is pronounced /ˈhap(ə)nˌstɑːns/ (UK).
What is the plural of happenstance?
The plural of happenstance is happenstances.

Words near happenstance in the dictionary

  1. happens across
  2. happens along
  3. happens by
  4. happens on
  5. happens upon
  6. happenstance
  7. happenstances
  8. happenstantial
  9. happenstantially
  10. Happes
  11. happi

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: happenstance (page history and authors); happenstance (Tamil Wiktionary) (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:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-happenstance.wav.

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