circumstance
Americannoun
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a condition, detail, part, or attribute, with respect to time, place, manner, agent, etc., that accompanies, determines, or modifies a fact or event; a modifying or influencing factor.
Do not judge his behavior without considering every circumstance.
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Usually circumstances the existing conditions or state of affairs surrounding and affecting an agent.
Circumstances permitting, we sail on Monday.
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an unessential or secondary accompaniment of any fact or event; minor detail.
The author dwells on circumstances rather than essentials.
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circumstances, the condition or state of a person with respect to income and material welfare.
a family in reduced circumstances.
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an incident or occurrence.
His arrival was a fortunate circumstance.
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detailed or circuitous narration; specification of particulars.
The speaker expatiated with great circumstance upon his theme.
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Archaic. ceremonious accompaniment or display.
pomp and circumstance.
- Synonyms:
- things, situation, conditions
verb (used with object)
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to place in particular circumstances or relations.
The company was favorably circumstanced by the rise in tariffs.
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Obsolete.
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to furnish with details.
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to control or guide by circumstances.
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idioms
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under the circumstances, because of the conditions; as the case stands: Also in the circumstances.
Under the circumstances, there is little hope for an early settlement.
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under no circumstances, regardless of events or conditions; never.
Under no circumstances should you see them again.
noun
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(usually plural) a condition of time, place, etc, that accompanies or influences an event or condition
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an incident or occurrence, esp a chance one
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accessory information or detail
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formal display or ceremony (archaic except in the phrase pomp and circumstance )
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in no case; never
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because of conditions; this being the case
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(of a person) in a bad financial situation
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(of a person) in a good financial situation
verb
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to place in a particular condition or situation
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obsolete to give in detail
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of circumstance
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin circumstantia ( circumstant-, stem of circumstāns, present participle of circumstāre “to stand round”), equivalent to circum- circum- + stā- stand + -nt present participle suffix + -ia noun suffix; see -ance
Explanation
A circumstance is the condition in which something happens. Say you were at a business luncheon and you had to suddenly leave because you started feeling sick, your boss might excuse your sudden departure, given the circumstance. Circumstance comes from the Latin meaning the conditions around something. If you are born in a war zone, you're born into a difficult circumstance. If you're making decisions about awarding a scholarship to the most needy person, you'll need information about each candidate's circumstances. If you didn't do your homework because the power was out all night, tell your teacher that under the circumstance, you couldn't see well enough to read.
Vocabulary lists containing circumstance
List 8
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Around and Around: Circum
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Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
If there was one maddening certainty about the World Cup over the past half century, it was that Germany never, under any circumstance, lost a penalty shootout.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
All they asked for was for their school to make an individualized assessment as to whether they could fairly play with their friends and classmates given their specific medical circumstance.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
The Strait of Hormuz was completely open then, so this is a very different circumstance.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
As distressing as their circumstance is, Naim and Ryan are unmistakably positioned as heroic lovers, not victims-to-be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
“In our circumstance, he would have done exactly what we did. He’s just too much of a hypocrite to admit it.”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
TPS provides protection from deportation for people from countries designated as unsafe because of war, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Under these circumstances, America’s overwhelming air power loses some of its punch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
On the other hand, the adviser’s perspective is that there are simply too many moving parts today, and that flexibility will likely produce better decisions as circumstances unfold.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
“No one in command could claim under the circumstances not to have known what was happening, even if they did not give orders to those under their control to do it,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
So unless you have been very, very lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
Asian Americans and Latinos overstaying a visa are similarly circumstanced; however, a blind driver or a ten-year-old driver is differently circumstanced than a sighted, adult driver.
From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021
According to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause, “all persons similarly circumstanced shall be treated alike.”
From Textbooks ● Jul. 28, 2021
While waiting for them to speak, the picturesque career of handsome, well-groomed Mr. Cortelyou was envisioned by many of his intimates to those not so circumstanced.
From Time Magazine Archive
For Polo, Seilan was "for its size, better circumstanced than any island in the world."
From Time Magazine Archive
The plunder had been startlingly circumstanced, but its issue had been all I could have hoped.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
