contingency.

1. A possible event or condition that must be allowed for because the outcome is uncertain.

2. Dependence on particular circumstances rather than necessity.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• contingency plan
• allow for contingencies
• historical contingency

On the page

The budget includes funds for contingencies such as equipment failure.

The chapter emphasizes historical contingency rather than treating reform as inevitable.

No contingency plan addressed the possibility that the archive would close.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic. Countable for possible events, often uncountable for conditionality. In philosophy and analysis, contingency contrasts with necessity; it does not simply mean improbability. Singular: contingency; plural: contingencies. Derived family (not inflections): contingent.