circumstance
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An event; a fact.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
surkuhmstansSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɝ.kəm.ˌstæns
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An event; a fact; a particular incident.
Condition in regard to worldly estate; state of property; situation; surroundings.
That which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event; an attendant thing or state of things.
verb
To place in a particular situation, especially with regard to money or other resources.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An event; a fact; a particular incident.
Used this way, circumstance is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use circumstance
- “Due to unfortunate circumstance, we had to cancel our picnic plans.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you).
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A circumstance that does not exonerate a person but which reduces the penalty associated with the offense.
Because of prevailing conditions.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “circumstance” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API (CC BY-SA 3.0). Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.