under the circumstances


Also, in the circumstances. Given these conditions, such being the case, as in Under the circumstances we can't leave Mary out. This idiom uses circumstance in the sense of “a particular situation,” a usage dating from the late 1300s. It may also be modified in various ways, such as under any circumstances meaning “no matter what the situation,” as in We'll phone her under any circumstances; under no circumstances, meaning “in no case, never,” as in Under no circumstances may you smoke; under any other circumstances, meaning “in a different situation,” as in I can't work under any other circumstances; and under the same circumstances, meaning “given the same situation,” as in Under the same circumstances anyone would have done the same.

Words Nearby under the circumstances

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.