circumstances
noun · n
Form of circumstance , plural of circumstance.
Simple meaning
A person's financial situation.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
surkuhmstansuhzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɝkəmstænsəz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A person's financial situation (good or bad)
“He found himself in straitened circumstances.”
Your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
n
"Circumstances" is a song by Canadian rock band Rush from its 1978 album Hemispheres.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person's financial situation (good or bad)
Used this way, circumstances is a specialist word with a mildly favourable edge. This is a financial use: it has a settled meaning in accounting and business, where precision matters more than colour.
“He found himself in straitened circumstances.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
- Business/professional
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A condition that accompanies or influences some event or activity.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Because of prevailing conditions.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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