circumstance
n. C / Un. a fact or event that is connected to a situation and affects how it happens. You often use this word in the plural to talk about your life or a specific event.
n. a condition, fact, or event accompanying and conditioning another; often used in the plural to describe the general state of affairs or a person's financial and social situation.
The police are investigating the circumstances of the accident.
Under normal circumstances, we would finish the report by Friday, but the power outage has delayed us.
The judge noted that while the crime was serious, the mitigating circumstances of the defendant's upbringing warranted a more lenient sentence than the maximum allowed by law.
From Middle English circumstaunce, from Old French circonstance, from Latin circumstantia.
Commonly used in the plural ('circumstances') to refer to a person's overall situation. Often follows prepositions like 'under' or 'in'.
in this circumstancein these circumstancesWhen referring to a general situation or set of facts, learners often use the singular form where the plural is conventionally required.