Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for happenstance.
Definitions

happenstance

[hap-uhn-stans] / ˈhæp ənˌstæns /
NOUN
chance
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Harnessing happenstance has led to inventions that have changed the world—from extending the lives of cardiac patients to overhauling how humans eat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Fun fact: That Post-it Notes were originally yellow was happenstance, too; that’s the color scrap paper the lab next door had available.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

The country’s very first poly-friendly city ordinance came about almost by happenstance.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Marles had met Hegseth in August to lobby him on Aukus, but the latter's office issued - and later retracted - a statement saying there were no talks, only "a happenstance encounter".

From BBC • Oct. 20, 2025

Chances were that, fog and all, he’d made his drift dead center by happenstance; he’d had the luck he’d prayed for earlier.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson




Vocabulary lists containing happenstance