under the circumstances

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

Spanberger, Pelosi and Buttigieg did what they could under the circumstances.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2026

Then earlier this month he backtracked and said it was the best deal the British government could make under the circumstances.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

Looking back on it now, under the circumstances, I should have been.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

The report said this was done "to prevent further harm" and that the decision to do so "was reasonable under the circumstances".

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2025

What he said was like a lot of things about prison: brutal, but reasonable under the circumstances.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

Related Words

• appropriately
• correspondingly
• properly
• proportionately
• respectively
• subsequently
• therefore
• thus