circumstance

Definitions

circum- (around) + st (stand) + -ance (noun) = 'the things standing around.' Latin circumstantia pictured the conditions 'standing around' an event — everything surrounding it. That's exactly what a circumstance is: not the event itself, but the surrounding facts that shape it.

Why It Means This

circumstance literally pictures things standing in a ring around an event. Latin stāre means 'to stand'; circum- puts that standing all around. So your circumstances are the conditions encircling you — what's standing around your situation and pressing on it. This is why we say something happened 'under the circumstances' (surrounded by those conditions) and why reduced circumstances is a polite way to say someone's finances have shrunk: the conditions standing around them have changed.

Common Collocations

• 1.under the circumstances在这种情况下
• 2.in the circumstances鉴于情况
• 3.unforeseen circumstances不可预见的情况
• 4.beyond one's control无法控制的情况

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Under the circumstances, postponing the trip was the right choice.

• 2.

  The accident happened due to a strange set of circumstances.

• 3.

  She raised three children in difficult financial circumstances.

• 4.

  We must adapt to changing circumstances.