occurrence

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Happening

Nouns

1. occurrence, eventuality, event, incident, affair, episode, milestone, transaction, proceeding, business, concern, circumstance, particular; fact, matter of fact, phenomenon; happenstance, goings-on; adventure, happening; accident (see chance), casualty.

2. the world, life, things, doings, affairs; things in general, affairs in general, the times, state of affairs, order of the day; course, tide, stream, current, run or march of events; ups and downs of life.

Verbs

1. occur, happen, take place, be; concur, accompany, coincide (see synchronism); come, become of, come off, come true, come about, come into existence, come into view, come to mind, come forth, come to pass, come on, pass; appear (see appearance), offer or present itself, be met with, be found, come one's way, meet the eye; fall, fall or turn out; run, be afoot; fall in, befall, betide, bechance; prove, supervene, eventuate, transpire, hap; draw on, turn up, crop up, spring up; issue, ensue, result (see effect); arrive, arise, rise, start, hold, take its course. Informal, come off, go [off], go down.

2. meet with, experience; fall to the lot of; be one's chance, fortune, or lot; find, encounter, undergo; pass or go through.

Adjectives — occurring, happening, going on, under way, current, prevailing; in the wind, afloat, on foot, at issue, in question; incidental, eventful, episodic, stirring, bustling, full of incident.

Adverbs — eventually, in the event of, in case; in the [natural] course of things; as things go, as times go, as the world goes, as the tail wags; as the tree falls, as the cat jumps; as it may turn out, as it may happen.

Quotations — I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me (Abraham Lincoln), History, n.: an account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools (Ambrose Bierce).

Antonyms, see inactivity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. event, happening, incident, episode, circumstance, occasion, experience, phenomenon, existence, appearance, occurring; see also event 1 , 2 .

Syn.- occurrence is the general word for anything that happens or takes place [ an unforeseen occurrence] ; event implies an occurrence of relative significance, often one growing out of earlier happenings or conditions [ the events that followed the surrender ] ; incident usually suggests an occurrence of relatively minor significance, often one connected with a more important event [ the award was just another incident in her career ] , though it can also imply conflict or disturbance [ the demonstration continued without further incident] ; an episode is a distinct event that is complete in itself but forms part of a larger event or is one of a series of events [ an episode of his childhood ] ; a circumstance is an event that is either incidental to, or a determining factor of, another event [ the circumstances surrounding my decision ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

happening, incident, event, episode, transaction, circumstance, matter, action, experience, affair.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. The condition or fact of being present: presence. See BE. 2. Something that happens: circumstance, event, happening, incident, occasion, thing. See HAPPEN. 3. Something significant that happens: circumstance, development, episode, event, happening, incident, news, occasion, thing. See HAPPEN.