Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: By Chance |
By ChanceAdverb1. In an incidental manner; "these magnificent achievements were only incidentally influenced by Oriental models". 2. (archaic) through chance, "To sleep, perchance to dream..". 3. By accident; "betrayed by a word haply overheard". 4. Without advance planning; "they met accidentally". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Synonyms: By ChanceSynonyms: accidentally (adv), by luck (adv), circumstantially (adv), haply (adv), incidentally (adv), perchance (adv), unexpectedly (adv). (additional references) |
| Antonym: intentionally (adv). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Chance 2 | Adverb: by chance, accidentally, by accident; casually; perchance; (possibly); for aught one knows; as good would have it, as bad would have it, as luck would have it, as ill-luck would have it, as chance would have it; as it may be, as it may chance, as it may turn up, as it may happen; as the case may be. |
Intention | Adverb: randomly, by chance, fortuitously; unpredictably, unforeseeably; casually; unintentionally; Adjective: unwittingly. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: By Chance |
| English words defined with "by chance": accident, accidental, Accidental lights, adventitious ♦ bechance, befall, by choice ♦ capricious, casual, Casualism, chance, chance event, Chanceably, conformational entropy ♦ fortuity ♦ Habnab, haphazard, happen, hit, hit-or-miss ♦ impulsive ♦ Lazzaroni ♦ maybe ♦ Parcase, passer, passerby, peradventure, perchance, perhaps, possibly ♦ stumble ♦ To hit on ♦ whimsical. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "by chance": Absolute, ACCIDENT SITE ♦ Linkage Disequilibrium, Lost Island ♦ nonrandomized clinical trial ♦ p-value ♦ random walk, randomised clinical trial, randomised trial, randomized clinical trial, randomized trial ♦ statistically significant, Stochastic effects. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "by chance": fortuitous. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Now, you wouldn't by chance be considering a sizable donation to the party? (Now and Again; writing credit: Michael Angeli) | |
Lyrics | If by chance you heard it for yourself (ON THE RADIO; performing artist: Donna Summer) And if by chance, that special place (Greatest Love Of All; performing artist: Whitney Houston) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Lucky by Chance (1981) Nothing by Chance (1975) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | Good business is not something which comes about by chance. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Abigail Adams | Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence. |
Jacques Delille | Our relatives are ours by chance, but we can choose our friends. |
Terence | How often events, by chance, and unexpectedly, come to pass, which you had not dared even to hope for! |
William Cowper | A fool must now and then be right by chance. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | If by chance they are revolutionary, they are so only in view of their impending transfer into the proletariat, they thus defend not their present, but their future interests, they desert their own standpoint to place themselves at that of the proletariat. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | I refuse to prove that I exist, says God "for proves denies faith and without faith I am nothing". "But," says Man, "the Babel Fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own argument you don't. QED" "Oh, dear", says God, "I hadn't thought of that", and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | He walked along in this way some time, going by chance down streets unknown to him, and forgetting fatigue, as is the case in sorrow. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | It is less clear how much of this selection occurred by design and how much by chance. (references) | |
Each gene contains the instructions for making one of the building blocks of a cell. We each have around 100,000 genes that determine who we are, what we look like, and how our bodies work. By chance, every person has approximately 10-12 genes that dont work as well as they should or dont work at all. These genes are mutated. (references) | ||
Human Rights | Ghana | Authorities routinely do not notify prisoners' families of their incarceration; such information often is obtained only by chance. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | ABSOLUTE, adj. Independent, irresponsible. An absolute monarchy is one in which the sovereign does as he pleases so long as he pleases the assassins. Not many absolute monarchies are left, most of them having been replaced by limited monarchies, where the sovereign's power for evil (and for good) is greatly curtailed, and by republics, which are governed by chance. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "by chance". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Tychicus | N/A | Biblical | By chance |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "by chance": as if by chance ♦ come by chance ♦ happen by chance ♦ meet by chance ♦ purely by chance. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| Language | Translations for "by chance"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | rastësisht (accidentally, at a venture, at times, by accident, casually, circumstantially, incidentally, overly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مصادفة (accident, accidental, chance, coincidence, fortuitously, fortuity, haphazard, hazard, occurrence), إتفاقا. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | случайно (accidentally, at random, by accident, casually, circumstantially, fortuitously, happily, idly, incidentally, occasionally, on occasion, perchance, sporadically). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 碰巧 (by coincidence, to happen to), 正好 (it just so happens that, just, just enough, just right, to chance to, to happen to). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | náhodou (accidentally, at random, by mistake, if and when, occasionally, perchance). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | tillfældigvis (by accidence, by accident). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | bý toeval (by accident), bý gelegenheid (on occasion), toevalligerwýze (by accident), toevallig (accidental, adventitious, by accident, chance, occasional, random). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | okaze (on occasion), hazarde (by accident). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | sattumalta (accidentally, by accident). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | par hasard (by accident). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | zufällig (accidental, accidentally, adventitious, by any chance, by hazard, casual, casually, chance, coincidental, coincidentally, fortuitous, fortuitously, haphazard, incidental, incidentally, on occasion, perchance, perchancely, random, stochastic). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | τυχόν (happening). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | במקר" (accidentally, by accident, hit or miss, incidentally). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | véletlenül (accidentally, as it fall out, at a venture, at random, by accident, by coincidence, eventually, haphazard, haphazardly, haply, happily, incidentally, perchance). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | kebetulan (accidental, by accident, casual, fit, happen to, incidental, ocassional). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | occasionalmente (occasionally, on occasion), casualmente (accidentally, casually, coincidently, haphazard, incidentally, occasionally), a caso (by, by accident, haphazard). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | ひょう窃 (accidentally, flutter, frail, hurt, lanky, long and thin, maybe, perhaps, piracy, plagiarism, possibly, smart, swaying, tall and thin, to feelcool, unexpectedly, unsteady steps), ひもじい思い (accidentally, state of feeling hungry, suddenly, with agility), 偶々 (accidentally, casually, unexpectedly), 偶偶 (accidentally, casually, unexpectedly), ふるいに掛ける (abundant, awkward, baggy, casually, complaining, drifting, floating, fully, grumbling, hmm, huh, humph, in plenty, lavish, loose-fitting or baggy, pish, plentiful, pshaw, to sieve, to sift, too big, weightlessness), ふて腐れる (accidentally, aimlessly, casually, dizzy, limp, pooh!, reel, soft, stagger, suddenly, to become irresponsible, to become sulky, totter, unexpectantly, unsteady on one's feet). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | たまたま (accidentally, casually, unexpectedly), ひょっ"り (unexpectedly), ひょいと (accidentally, suddenly, with agility), ふわりと (casually), ふらっと (accidentally, aimlessly, casually, suddenly, unexpectantly). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Papiamen | kasualmente (by accident), insidentalmente (by accident), aksidentalmente (by accident). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ybay ancechay z okazji (on occasion), przypadkiem (by accident). (various references) случайно (accidentally, accidently, at random, by accident, coincidentally, fortuitously, haphazardly, incidentally, occasionally, perchance). (various references) fadail (goods found by chance or lost). (various references) slučajno (accidentally, chance: by chance, fortuitously, haphazard, haphazardly, incidentally), nasumce (chance: by chance, random: at random), igrom slučaja (accident: by accident, come by chance). (various references) por suerte (by accident, luckily). (various references) händelsevis (accidentally, as it happens, by accident). (various references) tesadüfen (accidentally, by accident, by coincidence, casually, causelessly, fortuitously, haply, in passing, incidentally), rasgele (aimlessly, at a venture, at haphazard, at random, desultory, freehand, haphazard, haphazardly, hit or miss, hit-and-miss, indiscriminate, offhand, promiscuous, random, scratch, stray, wild), kazara (accidentally, by accident, inadvertently), gelişigüzel (at haphazard, at random, by fits and starts, casual, cursory, desultory, excursive, go-as-you-please, haphazard, helter-skelter, hit or miss, hit-and-miss, indiscriminate, promiscuous, random, scratch, scratchy). (various references) tцtдnleяin (accidental, casual), дwьl-sдwьl. (various references) випадково (accidentally, adventitiously, by accident, casually, circumstantiality, fortuitously, haphazard, haphazardly, incidentally, occasionally, perchance, promiscuously). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | casu, casualis, forte, fortuito, fortuitus. (various references) |
| Late Latin | 300-700 | casualis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Acts Chapter 27, Verse 29 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Foboumenoi te mhpwV eiV traceiV topouV ekpeswsin ek prumnhV riyanteV agkuraV tessaraV huconto hmeran genesqai |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Timentes autem ne in aspera loca incideremus de puppi mittentes anchoras quattuor optabant diem fieri |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And thei dredden, lest we schulden haue fallun in to scharp placis; and fro the last parti of the schip thei senten foure ankeris, and desiriden that the dai hadde be come. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Then fearinge lest they shuld have fallen on some Rocke they cast .iiii. ancres out of the sterne and wysshed for ye daye. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Then fearing lest we should fall upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Then, fearing that by chance we might come on to the rocks, they let down four hooks from the back of the ship, and made prayers for the coming of day. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Acts Chapter 27, Verse 29 |
| Albanian | Atëherë, nga frika se mos përplaseshin kundër shkëmbinjve, hodhën nga kiçi katër spiranca, duke pritur me ankth që të bëhej ditë. |
| Cebuano | Ug sa kahadlok nga tingali unya mahisangyad kami sa katakutan, ilang giariya ang upat ka mga angkla gikan sa ulin, ug nangandoy sila nga maadlaw na unta. |
| Croatian | Kako se bojahu da ne naletimo na grebene, baciše s krme èetiri sidra išèekujuæi da se razdani. |
| Danish | Og da de frygtede, at vi skulde støde på Skær, kastede de fire Ankre ud fra Bagstavnen og bade til, at det måtte blive Dag. |
| Dutch | En vrezende, dat zij ergens op harde plaatsen vervallen mochten, wierpen zij vier ankers van het achterschip uit, en wensten, dat het dag werd. |
| Finnish | Ja kun he pelkäsivät meidän viskautuvan karille, laskivat he laivan perästä neljä ankkuria ja odottivat ikävöiden päivän tuloa. |
| French | Dans la crainte de heurter contre des écueils, ils jetèrent quatre ancres de la poupe, et attendirent le jour avec impatience. |
| German | Da fürchteten sie sich, sie würden an harte Orte anstoßen, und warfen hinten vom Schiffe vier Anker und wünschten, daß es Tag würde. |
| Haitian Creole | Yo te pè pou batiman an pa moute sou resif. Yo lage kat lank nan dèyè batiman an. Yo t'ap tann solèy la leve. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Mereka takut kapal akan terkandas pada batu karang, jadi mereka menurunkan empat buah sauh dari bagian belakang kapal, lalu mengharap kalau boleh cepat-cepat pagi. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Dan sebab takutkan kalau-kalau terkandas ke atas tempat berbatu karang, maka mereka itu pun melabuhkan empat sauh daripada buritan, serta mencita-cita akan hari siang. |
| Italian | Nel timore di finire contro gli scogli, gettarono da poppa quattro ancore, aspettando con ansia che spuntasse il giorno. |
| Latvian | Baidîdamies uzskriet klintîm, tie kuìa pakaïgalâ izmeta èetrus enkurus un gaidîja dienu austam. |
| Maori | Na ka mataku kei paea matou ki nga toka, ka tukua nga punga e wha i te kei, ka hiahia ki te awatea. |
| Norwegian | og da de fryktet for at de kanskje kunde støte på skjær, kastet de fire anker ut fra bakstavnen, og ønsket at det vilde bli dag. |
| Portuguese | Ora, temendo irmos dar em rochedos, lançaram da popa quatro âncoras, e esperaram ansiosos que amanhecesse. |
| Rumanian | De teamq sq nu se loveascq de stknci, au aruncat patru ancore knspre ckrma corqbiei, wi doreau sq se facq ziuq. |
| Russian | п БУБСУШ, ЮФП'Щ ОЕ П БУФШ ОБ ЛБНЕОЙУФЩЕ НЕУФБ, 'ТПУЙМЙ У ЛПТНЩ ЮЕФЩТЕ СЛПТС, Й ПЦЙ"БМЙ "ОС. |
| Shuar | Tura kayanam ijiukai tusar ashamainiak kuatru jirun kijinian chapikjai Kanú senkarin Jinkiáwar Entsá ajunkarmiayi. Kijin asamtai, init Tepeámtai nase juramkichmi tusar Túrawarmiayi. Tura wake mesekar, tsawarti tusar matsamarmiayi. |
| Spanish | Temiendo dar en escollos, echaron las cuatro anclas de la popa y ansiaban el amanecer. |
| Swahili | Kwa sababu ya kuogopa kukwama kwenye miamba, waliteremsha nanga nne nyuma ya meli; wakaomba kuche upesi. |
| Swedish | Då fruktade de att vi skulle stöta på något skarpt grund, och kastade därför ut fyra ankaren från akterskeppet och längtade efter att det skulle dagas. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-c-c-e-h-n-y" | |
-2 letters: beachy, chance, chancy. | |
-3 letters: beach, bench, cache, hance, hyena, yecch. | |
-4 letters: abye, ache, achy, acne, bach, bane, bean, cane, ceca, chay, cyan, each, haen, nabe, yeah, yean, yech. | |
-5 letters: aby, ace, ane, any, aye, bah, ban, bay, ben, bey, bye, cab, can, cay, hae, hay, hen, hey, nab, nae, nah, nay, neb, yah, yea. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Historic | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Names: Derived from 12. Expressions | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Translations: Ancient 15. Bible Trace 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
