Circumstance

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: cir=cum=stance

CIDE DICTIONARY

Circumstance, n. [L. circumstantia, fr. circumstans, -antis, p. pr. of circumstare to stand around; circum + stare to stand. See Stand.].

•  That which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event; an attendant thing or state of things.  [1913 Webster]

  "The circumstances are well known in the country where they happened."  [1913 Webster]
•  An event; a fact; a particular incident.  [1913 Webster]

  "The sculptor had in his thoughts the conqueror weeping for new worlds, or the like circumstances in history."  [1913 Webster]
•  Circumlocution; detail.  [1913 Webster]

  "So without more circumstance at all
  I hold it fit that we shake hands and part."  [1913 Webster]
•  Condition in regard to worldly estate; state of property; situation; surroundings.  [1913 Webster]

  "When men are easy in their circumstances, they are naturally enemies to innovations."  [1913 Webster]

Not a circumstance, of no account. [Colloq.] -- Under the circumstances, taking all things into consideration.

Syn. -- Event; occurrence; incident; situation; condition; position; fact; detail; item. See Event.

Circumstance, v. t. 

 To place in a particular situation; to supply relative incidents.  [1913 Webster]
"The poet took the matters of fact as they came down to him and circumstanced them, after his own manner."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Circumstance, n.
1 a a fact, occurrence, or condition, esp. (in pl.) the time, place, manner, cause, occasion etc., or surroundings of an act or event. b (in pl.) the external conditions that affect or might affect an action.
2 (often foll. by that + clause) an incident, occurrence, or fact, as needing consideration (the circumstance that he left early).
3 (in pl.) one's state of financial or material welfare (in reduced circumstances).
4 ceremony, fuss (pomp and circumstance).
5 full detail in a narrative (told it with much circumstance).

Idiom

in (or under) the (or these) circumstances the state of affairs being what it is. in (or under) no circumstances not at all; never.

Derivative

circumstanced adj.

Etymology

ME f. OF circonstance or L circumstantia (as CIRCUM-, stantia f. sto stand)

THESAURUS

Circumstance

absolute fact, accepted fact, actual fact, adjunct, admitted fact, adventure, affair, appurtenance, aspect, axiom, bald fact, bare fact, bearings, brutal fact, case, circumstances, cold fact, component, conceded fact, condition, conditions, constituent, contents, datum, demonstrable fact, destiny, detail, doom, element, empirical fact, episode, established fact, estate, event, experience, fact, fact of experience, factor, feature, finances, fix, fixings, footing, formality, given fact, go, hap, happening, happenstance, hard fact, heraldry, incident, income, indisputable fact, inescapable fact, ingredient, integrant, item, jam, kismet, location, lot, makings, matter of fact, modality, mode, moira, naked fact, not guesswork, not opinion, occasion, occurrence, part, part and parcel, particular, pass, phenomenon, pickle, place, plain, plight, pomp, portion, position, positive fact, postulate, posture, predicament, pride, provable fact, rank, reality, resources, salient fact, self-evident fact, significant fact, simple fact, situation, sober fact, solemnity, specialty, spot, standing, state, state of affairs, station, status, stubborn fact, the case, the nitty-gritty, thing, turn of events, undeniable fact, weird, well-known fact

ROGET THESAURUS

Circumstance

Circumstance

N circumstance, situation, phase, position, posture, attitude, place, point, terms, regime, footing, standing, status, occasion, juncture, conjunctive, contingency, predicament, emergence, emergency, exigency, crisis, pinch, pass, push, occurrence, turning point, bearings, how the land lies, surroundings, context, environment, location, contingency, dependence (uncertainty), causation, attribution, circumstantial, given, conditional, provisional, critical, modal, contingent, incidental, adventitious, limitative, in the circumstances, under the circumstances, the circumstances, conditions, thus, in such wise, accordingly, that being the case, such being the case, in view of the circumstances, that being so, sith, since, seeing that, as matters stand, as things go, as times go, conditionally, provided, if, in case, if so, if so be, if it be so, depending on circumstances, in certain circumstances, under certain conditions, if it so happen, if it so turn out, in the event of, in such a contingency, in such a case, in such an event, provisionally, unless, without, according to circumstances, according to the occasion, as it may happen, as it may turn out, as it may be, as the case may be, as the wind blows, pro re nata, yet are my sins not those of circumstance.

Eventuality

N eventuality, event, occurrence, incident, affair, matter, thing, episode, happening, proceeding, contingency, juncture, experience, fact, matter of fact, naked fact, bare facts, just the facts, phenomenon, advent, business, concern, transaction, dealing, proceeding, circumstance, particular, casualty, accident, adventure, passage, crisis, pass, emergency, contingency, consequence, opportunity (occasion), the world, life, things, doings, affairs in general, things in general, affairs in general, the times, state of affairs, order of the day, course of things, tide of things, stream of things, current of things, run of things, march of things, course of events, ups and downs of life, vicissitudes of life, chapter of accidents, situation, happening, going on, doing, current, in the wind, in the air, afloat, on foot, afoot, on the tapis, at issue, in question, incidental, eventful, stirring, bustling, full of incident, memorable, momentous, signal, eventually, in the event of, in case, just in case, in the course of things, as things, times go, as the world goes, wags, as the tree falls, cat jumps, as it may turn out, happen, that's the way the ball bounces, that's the way the cookie crumbles, you never know what may turn up, you never know what the future will bring, the plot thickens, breasts the blows of circumstance, so runs round of life from hour to hour, sprinkled along the waste of years.