What does "serendipity" mean?
The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
Serendipity
/ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
- Grammar: serendipity is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: accident, accidentality, actuarial calculation, adventitiousness.
- Useful contrasts: bad luck, misfortune.
- Usage evidence: We all have experienced the serendipity of relevant information arriving just when we were least expecting it.
How to use "serendipity"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "serendipity" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "serendipity" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition. countable, uncountable
"The most random serendipity brought the two of us together, and now, we are happily married! If I was just 15 seconds slower, I'd have never met her! This discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word, which, as I have nothing better to tell you, I shall endeavour to explain to you: you will understand it better by the derivation than by the definition. I once read a silly fairy tale, called "The Three Princes of Serendip;" as their Highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a mule blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right – now do you understand Serendipity? One of the most remarkable instances of this accidental Sagacity, (for you must observe that no discovery of a thing you are looking for comes under this description,) was of my Lord Shaftsbury, who, happening to dine at Lord Chancellor Clarendon's, found out the marriage of the Duke of York and Mrs. Hyde, by the respect with which her mother treated her at table."
- 2 good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries wordnet
- 3 An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident. countable, uncountable
"2007, Erin McKean, speech at TED Serendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for because finding what you are looking for is so damn difficult."
- 4 The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
bad luckmisfortune
Example
"We all have experienced the serendipity of relevant information arriving just when we were least expecting it."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "serendipity"?
Common synonyms include: accident, accidentality, actuarial calculation, adventitiousness, break, breaks.
How do you use "serendipity" in a sentence?
We all have experienced the serendipity of relevant information arriving just when we were least expecting it.
How do you pronounce "serendipity"?
Pronounced /ˌsɛɹ.ənˈdɪp.ɪ.ti/.
Etymology
From Serendip (“variant of Serendib: Ceylon, Sri Lanka”) + -ity. Coined by English writer and politician Horace Walpole in 1754 based on the Persian story of The Three Princes of Serendip, who (Walpole wrote to a friend) were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”.