happenstance
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.
What cemented his place there was half happenstance: his no-nonsense, on-the-scene reportage of the 1996 bombing at the Atlanta Olympics, which occurred while he was filling in at “SportsCenter.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
Michelle is fluent in the perky command, the passive voice, the slippery non-apology, the kind of language that frames cruelty as blameless happenstance.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2025
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
I came to love fennel by way of happenstance; it wasn't love at first bite.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2025
She considers the vagaries of sports, the happenstance of El Li'der, a star pitcher in his youth, narrowly missing a baseball career in America.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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Vocabulary lists containing happenstance
Portmanteaus: Vocab Mash-Ups
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The Things They Carried
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This Week In Culture: Current Events Vocab for October 24–30, 2020
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