1
as in to encounter
to come upon face-to-face or as if face-to-face
chanced upon my archenemy as I rounded a corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to find
to come upon unexpectedly or by chance
I chanced upon your mother in the grocery store yesterday
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chance (upon)
Verb
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More than 1,000 people wrote in about the electric chance encounters and deep love that slipped through their fingers.—
Catherine Pearson,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025 -
Sheetz's aggressive expansion has encountered a chilly response in some suburbs where residents have concerns about traffic, noise and crime.—
Joe Guillen,
Axios,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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That lab found trace amounts of the cocaine metabolite, norcocaine.—
Laura A. Bischoff,
USA TODAY,
19 Feb. 2025
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McNeeley gave UConn its first lead since the score was 2-0 with a pair of free throws, and Ball found Reed again for a two-handed slam that put the Huskies up four with 1:11 to go.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The school’s small class sizes allow for highly individualized attention, ensuring that each child’s unique learning style and academic needs are met.—
Hilary Tetenbaum,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
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There were merely four movies from the Eighties and Nineties, which met varying degrees of success, about karate in the Valley, a wise sensei who died 2005, and a group of teenagers who were now in their fifties.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
20 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Chance (upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chance%20%28upon%29. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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