contingent
Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French contingent, from Medieval Latin contingens, present participle of contingere, from com- ("together") + tangere.

Pronunciation
  • IPA: /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/
Noun

contingent (plural contingents)

  1. An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something future.
    Synonyms: contingency
  2. That which falls to one in a division or apportionment among a number; a suitable share.
    Synonyms: proportion
  3. (military) A quota of troops.
Translations Translations Adjective

contingent

  1. Possible or liable, but not certain to occur.
    Synonyms: incidental, casual
    Antonyms: certain, inevitable, necessary, impossible
  2. (with upon or on) Dependent on something that is undetermined or unknown, that may or may not occur.
    Synonyms: conditional, Thesaurus:conditional
    The success of his undertaking is contingent upon events which he cannot control.
    a contingent estate
    • 1989, Thurgood Marshall, “Dissenting Opinion”, in Watkins v. Murray[S%3AWatkins+v.+Murray%2FDissent+Marshall]:
      The imposition of the death penalty should not be contingent on a particular jury's unguided understanding of a legal term of art.
  3. Not logically necessarily true or false.
  4. Temporary.
    contingent labor
    contingent worker
Related terms Translations Translations


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Offline English dictionary