CHANCY Synonyms: 71 Similar and Opposite Words

chancy

adjective

Definition of chancy

as in chance

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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 chancy Actions that seemed foolhardy when Rue was younger now come off as merely chancy, with Zendaya imparting enough hard-knock experience to pull off bigger swings. — Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Apr. 2026 Most storms occur in the summer months when the subtropical climate is at its most humid, making August’s Perseid meteor shower a chancier time to visit. — Sheeka Sanahori, Outside, 11 Nov. 2025 Lifelong recommendations based on studies of roughly 50 patients and for no longer than three months seem a bit chancy. — WSJ, 13 Sep. 2018 In a curious twist, Gunderson takes the story in an extremely chancy direction during the show’s final minutes. — David Lyman, Cincinnati.com, 14 Apr. 2018 In the 4500 block of Connecticut Avenue NW, Jeff Lucas watched a driver plow through the brown and turbulent waters in what had momentarily seemed to be a chancy undertaking. — Martin Weil, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2017 Steve Jobs was making what was at the time an extraordinarily chancy wager. — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, 23 June 2017 George Washington's chancy nighttime retreat from Brooklyn to Manhattan was a kind of Colonial-era Dunkirk. — Benedict Cosgrove, Smithsonian, 13 Mar. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chancy

Adjective

After signing the lease for her new Clifford Street flagship in London‘s Mayfair, Jennifer Chamandi discovered a fortuitous connection.

— Katie Abel, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
When such a fortuitous alignment occurs, amateur astronomers can discern things about the asteroid that professionals can’t readily measure, even with their giant telescopes on high mountains.

— David Schneider, IEEE Spectrum, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of fortuitous

Adjective

Violent crime, once almost unknown on the island, is rising sharply—another sign of the state’s haphazard retreat.

— Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026
With no clear guidance, haphazard and improvised efforts by companies to clean the homes left 6 in 10 residences still unsafe.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of haphazard

Adjective

Belting out random songs while delivering high-level physical comedy and acting takes skill.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Furthermore, the whiskers are in front, preventing the drone from detecting sideways obstacles like random jagged branches in a forest.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of random

Adjective

The task for the printmakers, led by Erik Hougen, Jeremy Ruiz, and Tom Smith, was to reproduce the jottings, corrections, and accidental smears on Safdie’s notecard as faithfully as possible, and also to scale it up in size.

— Bruce Handy, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Good news for Boeing, but could this accidental monopoly be a potential disaster waiting to happen?

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of accidental

Adjective

The bear-resistant container was invented to arrest the inadvertent cultivation of problem bears.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
Stewart recalls the whirlwind five-game series that included the star breaking teammate Sue Bird’s nose with an inadvertent elbow and game-altering clutch baskets by Taurasi.

— Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of inadvertent

Adjective

But then the story stalls, zeroes in on some incidental detail, and collapses into a mode of reflection that is circular and recursive.

— Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
That’s called an incidental finding, leading doctors to investigate well before symptoms develop and possibly early enough that the cancer remains small and hasn’t spread.

— Lauran Neergaard, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of incidental

Adjective

Those of you who've never had to work inside a tank or similar armored combat vehicle can count yourselves lucky.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
When the cast visited Japan in March 2025, Mystery Channel hosted a special event attended by 270 lucky fans chosen from applicants nationwide, giving them the opportunity to meet and interact with the cast.

— Ed Meza, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of lucky

Adjective

But the younger Toriiâ€™s succession was an abrupt and unplanned one.

— Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
There was also a proposal for an AI-hotline-style back-channel between the two countries to provide early warning and additional context should rogue AI conduct unplanned operations.

— Jon Martindale, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026