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

Pressed about why the bank won’t consider taking rates lower, Macklem said he can only do so much under the circumstances.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

"If we do manage to take off tonight, we'll count ourselves lucky under the circumstances," she said.

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2025

“They were trying to do what they could under the circumstances to prevent him from getting closer.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2025

Szilard and Fermi, working in separate labs at Columbia University, came up with a figure closer to 2.0—still a large quantity under the circumstances.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

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