happening
- something that happens; occurrence; event.
- an unconventional dramatic or artistically orchestrated performance, often a series of discontinuous events involving audience participation.
- any event considered worthwhile, unusual, or interesting.
Origin of happening
Synonyms for happening
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comhappen
- to take place; come to pass; occur: Something interesting is always happening in New York.
- to come to pass by chance; occur without apparent reason or design: Don't ask me what caused it—it just happened, that's all.
- to have the fortune or lot (to do or be as specified); chance: I happened to see him on the street.
- to befall, as to a person or thing: Something dreadful has happened to me.
- to meet or discover by chance (usually followed by on or upon): to happen on a clue to a mystery.
- to be, come, go, etc., casually or by chance: My friend happened along.
- Slang. to be very exciting or interesting: That party was happening!
Origin of happen
Synonyms for happen
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for happening
accident, proceeding, phenomenon, circumstance, incident, adventure, milestone, case, affair, episode, scene, experience, thing, chance, go, occasion, eventExamples from the Web for happening
Contemporary Examples of happening
In this war, the targeting is often happening on computer monitors thousands of miles away, capturing images from drones.
And that may well be what is happening in the Barnett Shale region around, yes, Dallas and Irving.
Make no mistake: The technology exists—has existed for a long while—to stop this from happening.
“When Tanveer realized what was happening, he jumped out of the truck, but the Iranians shot him,” Abdullah says.
Just being able to be in the loop when something is happening, it just works.
Historical Examples of happening
What might not be happening to Corney, she thought, while she was on the way to his rescue!
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
Sidney's heart, considering what was happening to it, behaved very well.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Linda could not tell what was happening from the murmur of voices.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
As soon as Lloyd began to realize what was happening, her face grew radiant.
The Little ColonelAnnie Fellows Johnston
Comrade Ossipon had no settled conception now of what was happening to him.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
happening
- an occurrence; event
- an improvised or spontaneous display or performance consisting of bizarre and haphazard events
- informal fashionable and up-to-the-minute
happen
- (intr) (of an event in time) to come about or take place; occur
- (intr foll by to) (of some unforeseen circumstance or event, esp death), to fall to the lot (of); be a source of good or bad fortune (to)if anything happens to me, it'll be your fault
- (tr) to chance (to be or do something)I happen to know him
- (tr; takes a clause as object) to be the case, esp if by chance, thatit happens that I know him
- Northern English dialect
- another word for perhaps
- (as sentence modifier)happen I'll see thee tomorrow
Word Origin for happen
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Word Origin and History for happening
mid-15c., "chance, luck," from present participle of happen; meaning "occurrence" is 1550s. Sense of "spontaneous event or display" is from 1959 in the argot of artists. Happenings "events" was noted by Fowler as a vogue word from c.1905.