happenstance.

An event or circumstance that comes about by chance rather than design.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• by happenstance
• pure happenstance
• a fortunate happenstance

On the page

By happenstance, both fugitives chose the same inn under different names.

She mistook the timing for a message, though he insisted it was pure happenstance.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Usually uncountable; plural happenstances for particular chance occurrences. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.