chance

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Fortuity

Nouns

1. chance, accident, lot; fate, kismet, karma (See destiny); Lady Luck, [Dame] Fortune; luck, fortune, hap, hazard; contingency, adventure, fortuity; randomness, indetermination, indeterminacy, stochastics, pot luck. Informal, wheel of fortune, fickle finger of fate. Slang, tough luck.

2. speculation, venture, gamble, risk taking; random shot, guessing game, blind bargain, shot or leap in the dark, pig in a poke; flip of a coin, turn of the cards, throw of the dice; calculated risk; long shot, dark horse; fluke; pot luck; enterprise zone. Slang, the way the ball bounces, the way the cookie crumbles, crapshoot. See danger, rashness, occasion, opportunity, gambling.

3. (chance of happening) probability, possibility, expectancy (See expectation); toss-up, even chance, fifty-fifty; odds, odds-on, edge, advantage, spread, sporting chance, best bet; poor chance or prospect, unlikelihood, outside chance, ghost of a chance (See improbability); impossibility; theory of probabilities, theory of games, law of averages. Informal, sure thing; even break; long shot, fluke, fighting chance.

4. (lucky item) good-luck piece, talisman, four-leaf clover, rabbit's foot; lucky number. Slang, hand, toby.

Verbs

1. chance, befall, hap, turn up; fall to one's lot, be one's fate; happen, hit or light upon, run into or across, stumble on. Informal, pop up.

2. (take a chance) chance [it], gamble, risk, venture, speculate; try one's luck, tempt fortune, take a chance, trust to chance; draw lots, toss a coin; shoot the works, go for broke; game, [set at] hazard, stake, bet, wager, fade, play (for); go out on a limb, lay on the line. Informal, put one's ass on the line.

3. be possible or probable; have or stand a chance; bid fair, seem likely; expect, think likely, dare say, flatter oneself; not stand a chance or a prayer, be out of the running. Informal, have a shot; not stand a snowball's chance in hell.

Adjectives

1. chance, random, accidental, adventitious, casual, fortuitous, contingent, eventual, causeless, indeterminate, uncontrollable; indiscriminate; hit-or-miss, catch-as-catch-can; aleatory, aleatoric; lucky.

2. unintentional, involuntary, undirected, aimless, purposeless, undirected, haphazard, unpremeditated, unwitting, inadvertent.

3. probable, possible, likely, in the cards; improbable, impossible, unlikely.

4. at stake or risk, on the line; out on a limb.

Adverbs

1. by chance, casually, at random, haphazard; incidentally, en passant, by the way; as luck would have it.

2. possibly, probably, likely; perhaps, perchance, peradventure; maybe, mayhap, haply (See doubt); God willing, Deo volente, D. V., wind and weather permitting. Informal, like as not, dollars to doughnuts, on the off chance.

Phrases — accidents will happen; Moses took a chance; in the lap of the gods; nothing ventured nothing gained; good luck beats early rising; never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Quotations — As good luck would have it (Shakespeare), The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (Shakespeare), The only sure thing about luck is that it will change (Bret Harte), Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity (Darrell Royal).

Antonyms, See necessity, improbability, certainty.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. accidental, unplanned, unintentional, random; see accidental 1 , aimless , haphazard , random .

See Synonym Study at random . n.

1. [The powers of uncertainty]

Syn. fate, fortune, fortuity, hazard, lot, accident, luck, good luck, bad luck, destiny, outcome, cast, lottery, gamble, hap, adventure, contingency, coincidence, serendipity, randomness, blind chance, kismet, happening, future, doom, occurrence, happenstance*, the breaks*, hit*, Lady Luck*, Dame Fortune*, turn of the cards*, the way the cookie crumbles*, hazard of the dice*, luck of the draw*, heads or tails*; see also accident 2 .

Ant. aim, purpose*, design.

2. [A possibility]

Syn. opening, occasion, prospect, turn; see opportunity 1 , possibility 2 , timeliness .

3. [An uncertainty]

Syn. venture, gamble, speculation; see bet , risk 2 , uncertainty 3 .

4. [Probability; often plural ]

Syn. likelihood, possibility, odds, indications; see probability .

• by chance,

Syn. by accident, as it happens, unexpectedly; see accidentally .

• on the (off) chance,

Syn. in case, in the event that, supposing; see if .

v.

1. [To happen]

Syn. come to pass, befall, occur; see happen 2 .

2. [To take a chance]

Syn. venture, stake, hazard, risk, wager, gamble, try, attempt, jeopardize, speculate, tempt fate, tempt fortune, trust to chance, trust to luck, run the risk, try one's luck, play with fire*, take a shot in the dark*, take a leap in the dark*, buy a pig in a poke*, go out on a limb*, chance one's luck*, chance it*, have a fling at*, take a fling at*, put all one's eggs in one basket*, skate on thin ice*, stick one's neck out*; see also gamble 1 , risk .

See Synonym Study at happen .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. luck fortuity, fortune, serendipity, fate, destiny, *wheel of fortune, providence, *toss of the dice. ''A nickname for Providence.''—Nicolas Chamfort. ''The instrument of Providence.''—Horace Walpole.

2. possibility odds, likelihood, probability, prospect, *long shot.

3. risk gamble, *toss of the dice, *crap shoot, jeopardy, hazard.

4. opportunity shot, try, opening, occasion, turn.

II

v.

1. risk gamble, *roll the dice, take a shot, wager, *go out on a limb, *tempt fate, hazard, speculate, try one's luck.

2. happen occur, transpire, come to pass, befall.

III

a.

fortuitous, accidental, casual, random, lucky, inadvertent, unplanned.

ANT.: planned, designed, arranged

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. The quality shared by random, unintended, or unpredictable events or this quality regarded as the cause of such events: fortuitousness, fortuity, fortune, hap, hazard, luck. See CERTAIN. 2. The hkeliness of a given event occurring: likelihood, odds, possibility, probability, prospect (used in plural). See LIKELY. 3. An unexpected random event: accident, fluke, fortuity, hap, happenchance, happenstance, hazard. See CERTAIN, SURPRISE. 4. A favorable or advantageous combination of circumstances: break, occasion, opening, opportunity. Informal: shot. See LUCK. 5. A possibility of danger or harm: gamble, hazard, risk. See SAFETY. II verb 1. To take place by chance: befall, hap, happen. See HAPPEN. 2. To run the risk of: adventure, hazard, risk, venture. See SAFETY. III adjective 1. Occurring unexpectedly: accidental, casual, contingent, fluky, fortuitous, inadvertent, odd. See SURPRISE. 2. Having no particular pattern, purpose, organization, or structure: desultory, haphazard, hit-or-miss, indiscriminate, random, spot, unplanned. See PLANNED.