contingency
/kənˈtɪndʒənsi/
that which could have been otherwise
contingency in a sentence
“Contingent truths depend on how the world happens to be.”
Origin of contingency
Latin contingere 'to touch, befall' from con- 'together' + tangere 'to touch'
Related Words
necessity
that which could not have been otherwise
nominalism
the view that universals are merely names, not real entities
realism
the view that abstract entities or universals exist independently
dualism
the view that mind and body are distinct substances
monism
the view that reality is fundamentally one kind of thing
causation
the relation between cause and effect