contingent 1 of 2

noun

Definition of contingent
1
as in delegation
a body of persons chosen as representatives of a larger group the local Scout troop traditionally sends a large contingent to the jamboree

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in possibility
something that might happen officials in charge of managing the national emergency tried to prepare for every contingent, no matter how improbable

Synonyms & Similar Words

contingent

2 of 2

adjective

1
as in random

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
2
as in probable

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
3
as in relative

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
4
as in conditional

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective contingent differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of contingent are accidental, casual, and fortuitous. While all these words mean "not amenable to planning or prediction," contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence.

the contingent effects of the proposed law

When could accidental be used to replace contingent?

The synonyms accidental and contingent are sometimes interchangeable, but accidental stresses chance.

any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental

When would casual be a good substitute for contingent?

While the synonyms casual and contingent are close in meaning, casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent.

a casual encounter with a stranger

When might fortuitous be a better fit than contingent?

Although the words fortuitous and contingent have much in common, fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause.

a series of fortuitous events

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of contingent
Noun
The rest of the camp’s Spanish contingent would join in with the football matches and watched the final, but the passion was not the same. — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026 As much as one-third of the population remained loyal to King George III and at times during the war loyalist Americans were the biggest contingent of troops in the British forces. — ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Adjective
Proof, for either side of a bad faith debate, that the invitation to the Ivory Tower is contingent for most of us. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026 The deal is still contingent on the official closing of the transaction in the coming weeks. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for contingent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contingent
  1. delegation
  2. possibility
  3. random
  4. probable
  5. relative
  6. conditional
  7. event
  8. inadvertent
Noun
  • Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir will lead an official delegation traveling to Tehran on Monday, Iranian state television reported, citing Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • In response, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Thursday there was no Turkish military delegation at the Syrian air base before or during Israel’s attack.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of delegation
Noun
  • Another, lesser possibility, is that some technical issue was discovered at the last minute with either the complex Chang’e 7 payload, or the rocket.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Titan, Saturn’s largest moon and the destination of NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission, is one intriguing possibility.
    — Nolan Roth, Scientific American, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of possibility
Adjective
  • The backgrounds are sparse and artifical, with generous bloomed lighting and mist applied to seemingly random places.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Paralympic ticket sales will begin sometime in 2027 with a random draw or lottery, similar to how Olympic sales began.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of random
Adjective
  • The first term may make the second plausible, compatible or even probable, but plausibility is not identity, compatibility is not implication, probability is not necessity, and similarity of appearance is not proof of sameness of nature.
    — Hamilton Mann, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Officially, probable 2028 POTUS candidate Newsom’s office did not have anything to say about any deal or the end of any deal on SB 122.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of probable
Adjective
  • These relative trillions, of course, are hard for the human brain to comprehend.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 21 Aug. 2026
  • That's because stocks are once again richly valued while bonds are super cheap on a relative basis.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of relative
Adjective
  • Efficiency maximizes performance conditional on assumptions holding.
    — Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Alejandro Garnacho, initially for sale for £40m, ended up joining Aston Villa on loan with a conditional obligation-to-buy clause based on a minimum number of appearances next season.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of conditional
Noun
  • More details on where the event will be held, who will speak and what makes the slate are due out in the coming weeks.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 27 Aug. 2026
  • On its call with investors, management said the conference sold out in early August and is its largest pipeline-generation event of the year.
    — Jeff Marks, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of event
Adjective
  • Instead, with an inadvertent point of his right index finger, Espada accidentally removed him from the game.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • OpenAI’s inadvertent hack of Hugging Face saw its model fire off as many as 300 actions an hour, and a single agent can spawn sub-agents that make tool calls of their own.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of inadvertent

Phrases Containing contingent

Browse Nearby Words

contingency
contingent
contingent (on or upon)
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Cite this Entry

“Contingent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contingent. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

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