chanced

verb

past tense of chance
1
as in risked
to take a chance on I don't think we should chance driving in this snowstorm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in happened
to take place there chanced to be a beautiful day when we were touring that part of Scotland

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 chanced Despite constantly losing and chasing the game, Vancouver was still soundly outshot, out-chanced and exposed at five-on-five. — Thomas Drance, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026 The Sharks, per Natural Stat Trick, out-chanced the Islanders 29-15 at even strength, with the high-danger chances being listed at 18-7 in San Jose’s favor. — Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chanced
  1. risked
  2. happened
  3. ventured
  4. came
  5. was
  6. did
  7. occurred
Verb
  • The company had previously said a penalty in the billions of dollars risked violating its constitutional rights to due process and protection from excessive fines.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Without such remedies, the turbines risked drastically spiking pollution in already vulnerable neighborhoods housing predominantly Black communities nearby, the NAACP argued.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of risked
Verb
  • That, however, never happened and an attorney eventually petitioned for his release.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • His death happened two weeks after his release tour for High, Lonesome and Then Some was canceled following Snider’s involvement in a still-unclear incident in Salt Lake City that landed him in a hospital and in jail.
    — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of happened
Verb
  • Some ventured onto what was then called the County Causeway, believing the storm had passed.
    — Miguel Sirgado, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Finding her light Carrie, pictured at her Los Angeles home in 1987, ventured into writing with her semi-autobiographical debut novel, Postcards from the Edge, which hit shelves that year and became a bestseller.
    — Michael Gioia, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of ventured
Verb
  • That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
  • All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2025
Definition of came
Verb
  • There was a single massive cheer from the home crowd in the fourth quarter, however.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Unlike other modern culinary festivals, there was no peeking behind the curtain, because, in fact, there is no curtain.
    — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of was
Verb
  • Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, nor did HUD officials.
    — Lizzie Kane, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Wisconsin Republicans did the same last year, and similar efforts have been raised in other states.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2025
Definition of did
Verb
  • If a split occurred, the black hole’s horizon — the boundary beyond which light cannot escape — would divide into two separate horizons.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The five killings occurred within a 25-hour period, and the crime scenes range from southwest Charlotte to northeast Charlotte, CMPD said.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of occurred

Browse Nearby Words

chance
chanced
chanced (upon)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Chanced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chanced. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All