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Glite Dictionary
contingence

contingence

9.6
A possible future event that may happen by chance
  • noun
  • /kənˈtɪn.dʒəns/
  • Archaic
translation icon : contingencia
  • He prepared a backup plan to address any potential contingence that might disrupt the event.

Examples

  • The architect planned for every possible contingence to ensure the project's success.

  • Understanding the various contingences can help you better manage risks in your investment strategy.

  • Our scientific and technological age had forgotten that this contingence constituted an essential principle of life and experience, and that reason, with all its consequences, was inseparable from unreason, with all its consequences.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

chance
vscontingence
∞ 1.0

Possibility that something will happen, often an opportunity or risk

is about a possible specific future event rather than abstract probability
possibility
vscontingence
∞ 2.0

A chance that something may happen

is about specific future happenings that occur by random events
prospect
vscontingence
425 3.3

A chance that something will happen in the future

is more about unplanned happenings that occur by randomness
contingency
vscontingence
99 7.1

A possible problem or event that people must prepare for

is instead about events that arise unpredictably without prior conditions
eventuality
vscontingence
16 6.5

A possible future event or outcome

is used for events that may happen randomly rather than planned

How Likely

certainty
  • Literature
202 3.4
probability
473 3.6
contingence
  • Archaic
9.6
possibility
∞ 2.0

Surface Forms

contingence singular
contingences plural

Morphology

contingence = contingent (semi-transparent) = conting + ence

The noun is formed by a standard nominalizing suffix from the adjective 'contingent', but 'contingence' is a rare/archaic variant and learners are more likely to know 'contingency'.

Etymology

Contingence comes from old Latin words con- and tangere, where tangere means 'to touch'. It is like English words such as contact and contingent, so a contingence is something that may 'touch' or happen to you — a possible future event.