contingency

[ kuhn-tin-juhn-see ]

/ kənˈtɪn dʒən si /

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See synonyms for: contingency / contingencies on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural con·tin·gen·cies.

dependence on chance or on the fulfillment of a condition; uncertainty; fortuitousness: Nothing was left to contingency.

a contingent event; a chance, accident, or possibility conditional on something uncertain: He was prepared for every contingency.

something incidental to a thing.

OTHER WORDS FOR contingency

2 emergency, likelihood, predicament.

See synonyms for contingency on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of contingency

First recorded in 1555–65; conting(ent) + -ency

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use contingency in a sentence

Here, as elsewhere, Berg focuses tightly on contingencies but underrates the contexts which give them meaning.
A Noble Failure: Woodrow Wilson’s Presidency Considered|Michael Kazin|September 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Well, I suppose they have to make plans for all contingencies.
Queen's Speech In Event of Nuclear War Revealed|Tom Sykes|August 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yet it is one of the contingencies that needs to be strongly considered, if it is plausible at all.
What To Do In Syria|Hussein Ibish|June 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
These books follow the war in all its uncertainties and accidents and contingencies.
The Hinge of War: Michael Gorra on the Civil War’s Turning Point|Michael Gorra|May 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST

It is natural to assume that only military people fully understand the contingencies.
How and Why the "Nuclear Umbrella" Argument Falls Apart|Bernard Avishai|August 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Max Bray arranged all future matters to his entire satisfaction, but again there were contingencies that he could not foresee.
By Birth a Lady|George Manville Fenn
Hence to give a margin of safety to cover contingencies not calculable, an excess of material must be provided.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Money was necessary to pay expenses of transportation and for other contingencies as they might arise.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
The Titanic was efficiently designed and constructed to meet the contingencies which she was intended to meet.
Loss of the Steamship 'Titanic'|British Government
Too many chances are against the climbers; too many contingencies may turn against them.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury

British Dictionary definitions for contingency

contingency

/ (kənˈtɪndʒənsɪ) /

noun plural -cies

a possible but not very likely future event or condition; eventuality
(as modifier)a contingency plan

something dependent on a possible future event

a fact, event, etc, incidental to or dependent on something else

(in systemic grammar)

modification of the meaning of a main clause by use of a bound clause introduced by a binder such as if, when, though, or sinceCompare adding (def. 3)
(as modifier)a contingency clause

logic

the state of being contingent
a contingent statement

dependence on chance; uncertainty

statistics

the degree of association between theoretical and observed common frequencies of two graded or classified variables. It is measured by the chi-square test
(as modifier)a contingency table; the contingency coefficient

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

contingency

OTHER WORDS FOR contingency

Origin of contingency

Words related to contingency

How to use contingency in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for contingency