CIRCUMSTANTIAL Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'circumstantial' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of circumstantial are detailed , minute , and particular . While all these words mean "dealing with a matter fully and usually point by point," circumstantial implies fullness of detail that fixes something described in time and space. // a circumstantial account of our visit

Q: When could 'detailed' be used to replace 'circumstantial'?

The meanings of detailed and circumstantial largely overlap; however, detailed stresses abundance or completeness of detail. // a detailed analysis of the event

Q: When is 'minute' a more appropriate choice than 'circumstantial'?

In some situations, the words minute and circumstantial are roughly equivalent. However, minute implies close and searching attention to the smallest details. // a minute examination of a fossil

Q: When can 'particular' be used instead of 'circumstantial'?

The synonyms particular and circumstantial are sometimes interchangeable, but particular implies a precise attention to every detail. // a particular description of the scene of the crime

circumstantial

adjective

ˌsər-kəm-ˈstan(t)-shəl

Definition of circumstantial next

as in detailed

including many small descriptive features the circumstantial account of his surgery told us more than we really wanted to know about the stomach

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How does the adjective circumstantial differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of circumstantial are detailed, minute, and particular. While all these words mean "dealing with a matter fully and usually point by point," circumstantial implies fullness of detail that fixes something described in time and space.

a circumstantial account of our visit

When could detailed be used to replace circumstantial?

The meanings of detailed and circumstantial largely overlap; however, detailed stresses abundance or completeness of detail.

a detailed analysis of the event

When is minute a more appropriate choice than circumstantial?

In some situations, the words minute and circumstantial are roughly equivalent. However, minute implies close and searching attention to the smallest details.

a minute examination of a fossil

When can particular be used instead of circumstantial?

The synonyms particular and circumstantial are sometimes interchangeable, but particular implies a precise attention to every detail.

a particular description of the scene of the crime

Examples 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 circumstantial In 2020, Havertz joined Chelsea in a circumstantial transfer. —

Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 2 July 2024 Bateson was never charged with those crimes, and the connection remains circumstantial and speculative. —

Katie Rife, EW.com, 13 Oct. 2024 The police had circumstantial information but little concrete evidence tying her husband to the slayings. —

Declan Gallagher and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024 His case for Todd, an early Bitcoin project contributor who was just 23 when Satoshi wrote the project's whitepaper, is highly circumstantial. —

Pete Gannon, Axios, 9 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for circumstantial

Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumstantial

Adjective

Skip to the current day and supercomputers are performing a nearly unfathomable number of calculations daily to produce highly detailed weather forecasts many days into the future around the globe.

Mary Gilbert, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
Many of the funerary engravings that have been found are much longer and more detailed than the one in Blais’ studio.

Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024