circumstance

English

Alternative forms

• circumstaunce

Pronunciation

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• Rhymes: -ɑːns

Noun

circumstance (plural circumstances)

1. That which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event; an attendant thing or state of things.
2. An event; a fact; a particular incident.
   • 1834, David Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of, Nebraska 1987, p. 20:

     Then another circumstance happened, which made a lasting impression on my memory, though I was but a small child.

3. Circumlocution; detail.
4. Condition in regard to worldly estate; state of property; situation; surroundings.

Translations

That which attends, or relates to, or in some way affects, a fact or event

Arabic: حالة (ar) (Haala) f., ظَرْف (ar) (Zarf) m. Armenian: հանգամանք (hy) (hangamank’), պարագա (hy) (paraga) Bulgarian: обстоятелство (bg) n. Chinese: Mandarin: 情況 (cmn), 情况 (cmn) (qíngkuàng), 狀態 (cmn), 状态 (cmn) (zhuàngtài) Croatian: okolnost (hr) f. Czech: okolnost (cs) f. Danish: omstændighed c. Dutch: omstandigheid (nl) Finnish: olosuhteet (fi) pl., olot (fi) pl. French: circonstance (fr) f. Hebrew: נסיבות (nesibot) f. pl.

Icelandic: kringumstæður (is) n. pl. Italian: circostanza (it) f. Japanese: 状況 (ja) (jōkyō), 事情 (ja) (jijō) Korean: 상황 (sanghwang) Norwegian Bokmål: omstendighet m. and f. Norwegian Nynorsk: omstende (nn) n. Romanian: circumstanță (ro) f., împrejurare (ro) f. Russian: обстоятельство (ru) (obstojátel'stvo) n., условие (ru) (uslóvije) n., ситуация (ru) (situácija) f., положение (ru) (položénije) n. Scottish Gaelic: cor (gd) m. Serbian: околност (sr) (okolnost) f. Swedish: omständighet (sv) c.

event; fact; particular incident

Armenian: դեպք (hy) (depk’) Chinese: Mandarin: 事件 (cmn) (shìjiàn) Danish: omstændighed c., forhold n. Dutch: omstandigheid (nl)

Finnish: yhteensattuma (fi) German: Umstand (de) m. Italian: dettaglio (it) m. Japanese: 事件 (ja) (jiken) Russian: обстоятельство (ru) (obstojátel'stvo) n., случай (ru) (slúčaj) m.

circumlocution; detail

Armenian: մանրամասնություն (hy) (manramasnut’yun), պարագա (hy) (paraga) Bulgarian: подробност (bg) f. Chinese: Mandarin: 詳情, 详情 (xiángqíng), 細節, 细节 (xìjié) Danish: detalje c., omstændelighed c.

Finnish: seikka (fi), asianhaara (fi), yksityiskohta (fi) Italian: circonlocuzione (it) f. Russian: деталь (ru) (detál') f., подробность (ru) (podróbnost') f., частность (ru) (částnost') f.

condition in regard to worldly estate

Bulgarian: материално положение (bg) Danish: kår n.

Finnish: varallisuus (fi), varat (fi) pl. Russian: материальное положение (ru) (materiál'noje položénije) n.

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Translations to be checked

Ido: cirkonstanco

Latin: circumstantia Spanish: circunstancia (es) f.

Derived terms

• under no circumstance
• under the circumstances

Verb

circumstance (third-person singular simple present circumstances, present participle circumstancing, simple past and past participle circumstanced)

1. To place in a particular situation; to supply relative incidents.
   • 1858, Anthony Trollope, Doctor Thorne, Chapter 8:

     Tidings had in some shape reached is ears that his father was not comfortably circumstanced as regarded money.