1
as in possibility
something that might happen agencies trying to provide for every contingency in a national emergency

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun contingency differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of contingency are crisis, emergency, exigency, juncture, pinch, straits, and strait. While all these words mean "a critical or crucial time or state of affairs," contingency implies an emergency or exigency that is regarded as possible but uncertain of occurrence.

contingency plans

In what contexts can crisis take the place of contingency?

The meanings of crisis and contingency largely overlap; however, crisis applies to a juncture whose outcome will make a decisive difference.

a crisis of confidence

When is emergency a more appropriate choice than contingency?

While in some cases nearly identical to contingency, emergency applies to a sudden unforeseen situation requiring prompt action to avoid disaster.

the presence of mind needed to deal with emergencies

When might exigency be a better fit than contingency?

The synonyms exigency and contingency are sometimes interchangeable, but exigency stresses the pressure of restrictions or urgency of demands created by a special situation.

provide for exigencies

When could juncture be used to replace contingency?

The words juncture and contingency can be used in similar contexts, but juncture stresses the significant concurrence or convergence of events.

an important juncture in our country's history

How does the word pinch relate to other synonyms for contingency?

Pinch implies urgency or pressure for action to a less intense degree than exigency or emergency.

come through in a pinch

How are the words strait and straits related as synonyms of contingency?

Strait, now commonly straits, applies to a troublesome situation from which escape is extremely difficult.

in dire straits

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 contingency Avalanche decoupling offers something essential for effective contingency planning: an affirmative vision for how the United States would sustain and lead the international trading system if China forced a geopolitical rupture. Eyck Freymann, Foreign Affairs, 29 Jan. 2025 Just like at the height of the pandemic, buyers are waiving contingencies and bidding properties sharply higher. USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2025 Instead, the case of Mahler-Werfel dramatizes how opportunity, environment, and other contingencies shape artistic careers. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 All of Brighton’s biggest sales have taken place in the summer, when there is more time for contingency planning — Yves Bissouma to Tottenham Hotspur in 2022, Moises Caicedo and Robert Sanchez to Chelsea, and Alexis MacAllister to Liverpool in 2023. Andy Naylor, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for contingency
Recent Examples of Synonyms for contingency
Noun
  • What makes the possibility of Ovechkin breaking Gretzky’s goal record this season so special is that Ovechkin would be doing it at the same seasonal rate as Gretzky did.
    Dom Luszczyszyn, The Athletic, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Ordinary people have little knowledge that such a possibility even exists.
    Bill Hamilton, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The United States’ treaties with China and India have no arbitration provisions, so the U.S. competent authority could simply decline to agree to relieve double taxation.
    Ryan Finley, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
  • The federal bill would among other things restore a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval before making election changes.
    Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Every March, the Japanese Friendship Garden hosts its annual event when its cherry blossoms are typically in bloom.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Coordinate Non-Event Marketing Integrated marketing keeps the event benefits going.
    Karolyn Raphael, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Visiting production centers in person is a crucial part of ensuring his clients goods will meet the USMCA requirements, which also include paying workers $16 an hour on the books and abiding by a slew of intellectual property rules.
    Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 10 Mar. 2025
  • What To Know Polizzi had applied for a waiver from the building permit requirement in April 2024 but has not received a response from LADBS.
    William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Kyiv backed the plan on Tuesday, contingent on Moscow’s agreement.
    Jenni Reid,Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Primary or current beneficiaries benefit from the trust now, and they can be followed by contingent, successor, or alternate beneficiaries.
    Bob Carlson, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders via social media that included homes, hotels and a Walmart. Jennifer Thompson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman, described the fire conditions in the central and northern parts of the state as historic and highly anomalous.
    Sean Murphy and Russ Bynum, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The director of the F1 movie, Joseph Kosinski, has revealed the one condition Lewis Hamilton had going into its production.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • When people hear about large groups of people in class action cases, those people are typically identified in the discovery process, where the business will produce information and documents identifying people who have been similarly harmed.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
  • We won’t be bullied or intimidated by frivolous cases.
    Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The plan also included a stipulation for Ukraine to be armed after a peace deal to deter future invasions.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Their agreement, or joint stipulation of dismissal in legal terms, was filed on Monday.
    Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Contingency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contingency. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.

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