N. circumstance, situation, phase, position, # posture, attitude, place, point, terms, regime, footing, standing, status, occasion, juncture, conjunctive, contingency, predicament, emergence, emergency, exigency, crisis, pinch, pass, push, occurrence, turning point, bearings, how the land lies, surroundings, context, environment 229a, location 184, contingency, dependence (uncertainty) 475, causation 153, attribution 155

Adj. circumstantial, given, conditional, provisional, critical, modal, contingent, incidental, adventitious, limitative

Adv. in the circumstances, under the circumstances, the circumstances, conditions, thus, in such wise, accordingly, that being the case, such being the case, in view of the circumstances, that being so, sith, since, seeing that, as matters stand, as things go, as times go, conditionally, provided, if, in case, if so, if so be, if it be so, depending on circumstances, in certain circumstances, under certain conditions, if it so happen, if it so turn out, in the event of, in such a contingency, in such a case, in such an event, provisionally, unless, without, according to circumstances, according to the occasion, as it may happen, as it may turn out, as it may be, as the case may be, as the wind blows, pro re nata

Phr. "yet are my sins not those of circumstance", 1, absolute relation

N. transience, transientness, evanescence, impermanence, fugacity, caducity, mortality, span, nine days' wonder, bubble, mayfly, spurt, flash in the pan, temporary arrangement, interregnum, velocity, suddenness, changeableness, transient, transient boarder, transient guest

V. be transient, flit, pass away, fly, gallop, vanish, fade, evaporate, pass away like a cloud, pass away like a summer cloud, pass away like a shadow, pass away like a dream

Adj. transient, transitory, transitive, passing, evanescent, fleeting, cursory, short-lived, ephemeral, flying, fugacious, fugitive, shifting, slippery, spasmodic, instantaneous, momentaneous, temporal, temporary, provisional, provisory, deciduous, perishable, mortal, precarious, unstable, insecure, impermanent, brief, quick, brisk, extemporaneous, summary, pressed for time, sudden, momentary

Adv. temporarily, pro tempore, for the moment, for a time, awhile, en passant, in transitu, in a short time, soon, briefly, at short notice, on the point of, on the eve of, in articulo, between cup and lip

Phr. one's days are numbered, the time is up, here today and gone tomorrow, non semper erit aestas, eheu, fugaces labuntur anni, sic transit gloria mundi, a schoolboy's tale, the wonder of the hour, [Byron], dum loquimur fugerit invidia aetas, fugit hora, all that is transitory is but an illusion

N. experiment, essay, analysis, screen, trial, tentative method, ttonnement, verification, probation, experimentum crucis, proof, (demonstration) 478, criterion, diagnostic, test, probe, crucial test, acid test, litmus test, crucible, reagent, check, touchstone, pix, assay, ordeal, ring, litmus paper, curcuma paper, turmeric paper, test tube, analytical instruments, empiricism, rule of thumb, feeler, trial balloon, pilot balloon, messenger balloon, pilot engine, scout, straw to show the wind, speculation, random shot, leap in the dark, analyzer, analyst, assayist, adventurer, experimenter, experimentist, experimentalist, scientist, engineer, technician, subject, experimentee, guinea pig, experimental animal, protocol, experimental method, blind experiment, double-blind experiment, controlled experiment, poll, survey, opinion poll, epidemiological survey, retrospective analysis, retrospective survey, prospective survey, prospective analysis, statistical analysis, literature search, library research, tryout, audition, discovery, measurement, evidence, deduction, induction, abduction

V. experiment, essay, try, try out, assay, make an experiment, make a trial of, give a trial to, put on trial, subject to trial, experiment upon, rehearse, put to the test, bring to the test, submit to the test, submit to the proof, prove, verify, test, touch, practice upon, try one's strength, road-test, test drive, take for a spin, test fly, grope, feel one's way, grope for one's way, fumble, ttonner, aller ttons, put out a feeler, throw out a feeler, send up a trial balloon, send up a pilot balloon, see how the land lies, get the lay of the land, test the waters, feel out, sound out, take the pulse, see, check, check out, see how the wind blows, consult the barometer, feel the pulse, fish for, bob for, cast for, beat about for, angle, trawl, cast one's net, beat the bushes, try one's fortune, explore

Adj. experimental, empirical, probative, probatory, probationary, provisional, analytic, docimastic, tentative, unverified, unproven, speculative, untested

Adv. on trial, under examination, on probation, under probation, on one's trial, on approval

Phr. check it out, give it a try, see how it goes, "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes."

N. uncertainty, incertitude, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubitation, dubitancy|, dubitousness, hesitation, suspense, perplexity, embarrassment, dilemma, bewilderment, timidity, vacillation, diaporesis, indetermination, vagueness, haze, fog, obscurity, ambiguity, contingency, dependence, dependency, double contingency, possibility upon a possibility, open question, onus probandi, blind bargain, pig in a poke, leap in the dark, something or other, needle in a haystack, needle in a bottle of hay, roving commission, precariousness, fallibility

V. be uncertain, wonder whether, lose the clue, lose the clew, scent, miss one's way, not know what to make of, not know which way to turn, not know whether one stands on one's head or one's heels, float in a sea of doubt, hesitate, flounder, lose oneself, lose one's head, muddle one's brains, render uncertain, put out, pose, puzzle, perplex, embarrass, confuse, confound, bewilder, bother, molder, addle the wits, throw off the scent, ambiguas in vulgus spargere voces, keep in suspense, doubt, hang in the balance, tremble in the balance, depend

Adj. uncertain, casual, random, changeable, doubtful, dubious, indecisive, unsettled, undecided, undetermined, in suspense, open to discussion, controvertible, in question, vague, indeterminate, indefinite, ambiguous, equivocal, undefined, undefinable, confused, mystic, oracular, dazed, perplexing, enigmatic, paradoxical, apocryphal, problematical, hypothetical, experimental, unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable) 519, fallible, questionable, precarious, slippery, ticklish, debatable, disputable, unreliable, untrustworthy, contingent, contingent on, dependent on, subject to, dependent on circumstances, occasional, provisional, unauthentic, unauthenticated, unauthoritative, unascertained, unconfirmed, undemonstrated, untold, uncounted, in a state of uncertainty, in a cloud, in a maze, bushed, off the track, ignorant, &c. 491, afraid to say, out of one's reckoning, astray, adrift, at sea, at fault, at a loss, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, puzzled, lost, abroad, dsorient, distracted, distraught

Adv. pendente lite, sub spe rati

Phr. heaven knows, who can tell? who shall decide when doctors disagree? ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces

N. preparation, providing, provision, providence, anticipation, precaution, preconcertation, predisposition, forecast, rehearsal, note of preparation, arrangement, clearance, adjustment, tuning, equipment, outfit, accouterment, armament, array, ripening, maturation, evolution, elaboration, concoction, digestion, gestation, batching, incubation, sitting, groundwork, first stone, cradle, stepping-stone, foundation, scaffold, scaffolding, echafaudage, training, inurement, novitiate, cooking, cookery, brewing, culinary art, tilling, plowing, sowing, semination, cultivation, preparedness, readiness, ripeness, mellowness, maturity, un impromptu fait a loisir, preparer, trainer, pioneer, trailblazer, avant- courrier, avant-coureur, voortrekker, sappers and miners, pavior, navvy, packer, stevedore, warming pan

V. prepare, get ready, make ready, make preparations, settle preliminaries, get up, sound the note of preparation, set in order, put in order, forecast prepare the ground, plow the ground, dress the ground, till the soil, cultivate the soil, predispose, sow the seed, lay a train, dig a mine, lay the groundwork, fix the groundwork, lay the basis, fix the basis, lay the foundations, fix the foundations, dig the foundations, erect the scaffolding, lay the first stone, roughhew, cut out work, block out, hammer out, lick into shape, elaborate, mature, ripen, mellow, season, bring to maturity, nurture, hatch, cook, brew, temper, anneal, smelt, barbecue, infumate|, maturate, equip, arm, man, fit-out, fit up, furnish, rig, dress, garnish, betrim, accouter, array, fettle, fledge, dress up, furbish up, brush up, vamp up, refurbish, sharpen one's tools, trim one's foils, set, prime, attune, whet the knife, whet the sword, wind up, screw up, adjust, put in trim, put in train, put in gear, put in working order, put in tune, put in a groove for, put in harness, pack, train, inure, breed, prepare &c. for, rehearse, make provision for, take steps, take measures, take precautions, provide, provide against, beat up for recruits, open the door to, set one's house in order, make all snug, clear the decks, clear for action, close one's ranks, shuffle the cards, prepare oneself, serve an apprenticeship, lay oneself out for, get into harness, gird up one's loins, buckle on one's armor, reculer pour mieux sauter, prime and load, shoulder arms, get the steam up, put the horses to, guard against, make sure against, forearm, make sure, prepare for the evil day, have a rod in pickle, provide against a rainy day, feather one's nest, lay in provisions, make investments, keep on foot, be prepared, be ready, hold oneself in readiness, keep one's powder dry, lie in wait for, anticipate, principiis obstare, veniente occurrere morbo

Adj. preparing, in preparation, in course of preparation, in agitation, in embryo, in hand, in train, afoot, afloat, on foot, on the stocks, on the anvil, under consideration, brewing, batching, forthcoming, brooding, in store for, in reserve, precautionary, provident, preparative, preparatory, provisional, inchoate, under revision, preliminary, prepared, in readiness, ready, ready to one's band, ready made, ready cut and dried, made to one's hand, handy, on the table, in gear, in working order, in working gear, snug, in practice, ripe, mature, mellow, pukka, practiced, labored, elaborate, highly-wrought, smelling of the lamp, worked up, in full feather, in best bib and tucker, in harness, at harness, in the saddle, in arms, in battle array, in war paint, up in arms, armed at all points, armed to the teeth, armed cap a pie, sword in hand, booted and spurred, in utrumque paratus, semper paratus, on the alert, at one's post

Adv. in preparation, in anticipation of, against, for, abroach

Phr. a bove majori discit arare minor, "looking before and after", si vis pacem para bellum

N. conditions, terms, articles, articles of # agreement, memorandum, clauses, provisions, proviso, covenant, stipulation, obligation, ultimatum, sine qua non, casus foederris

V. make terms, come to terms, make it a condition, stipulate, insist upon, make a point of, bind, tie up

Adj. conditional, provisional, guarded, fenced, hedged in

Adv. conditionally, provisionally, pro re nata, on condition, with a string to it