happenstance

/ˈhæpənstæns/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhæpənstæns/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈha-pən-ˌstan(t)s ˈha-pᵊm-/ (ame, mw)

happenstance — 名詞

  • happenstancesingular
  • happenstancesplural

1. something that happens by luck rather than by plan, often turning out well for t

1.名詞C1
釋義

偶然；巧合

非計畫安排、碰巧發生的事，常帶好結果

something that happens by luck rather than by plan, often turning out well for the people involved.

例句

Jiwoo met her future business partner at the airport by pure happenstance.

Jiwoo 純粹是偶然地在機場遇到了未來的事業合夥人。

collocation: by pure happenstance

It was sheer happenstance that Mauricio sat next to a film director on the long flight to Madrid.

Mauricio 在飛往馬德里的長途班機上剛好坐在一位電影導演旁邊，純屬巧合。

pattern: sheer/pure happenstance + that-clause

同義詞
  • chance

    everyday and neutral; the most common alternative in speech

  • coincidence

    stresses the surprising overlap of two events

  • serendipity

    always implies a fortunate, pleasant accident

  • fluke

    informal; emphasises an unlikely lucky outcome

反義詞
  • design

    deliberate planning, the opposite of chance

  • intention

    purposeful aim rather than accident

文法句型

by happenstance

pure happenstance

mere happenstance

用法筆記

Frequently appears with intensifying adjectives such as 'pure', 'sheer', or 'mere', and in the prepositional frame 'by happenstance'. Carries a slightly literary or formal tone; in everyday speech, Taiwanese learners will hear 'by chance' or 'by accident' far more often.

常見錯誤

❌I met her by a happenstance.
✅I met her by happenstance.
💡in the fixed phrase 'by happenstance', no article is used.
❌It happenstanced that we sat together.
✅It was happenstance that we sat together.
💡'happenstance' is only a noun, never a verb.