Circumstantial Meaning
/səɹ.kəmˈstænʃəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjPertaining to or dependent on circumstances, especially as opposed to essentials; incidental, not essential.
adjInvolving evidence that relies on inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, thus, suggesting guilt but not directly proving it.
Sentence Examples
For circumstantial evidence, that's plenty.
The evidence is all circumstantial.
The prosecution presented circumstantial evidence that linked him to the crime.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The detective warned that the evidence was purely ____ and inconclusive.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The case against him was based entirely on ____ evidence tonight.
Word Origin & History
From Latin circumstantia + English -al, equivalent to circumstance + -ial.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We must therefore distinguish between the essentials in religious worship […] and what is merely circumstantial."
— 1754, John Sharp, Sermons:
"Evidence for cannibalism abounds - even if circumstantial - both from the modern world and throughout history, but academic anthropology has found itself in a funk of denial."
— 2000 September 7, Henry Gee, “Eating people - is it bad taste?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 09 May 2014:
"Never, he said, in the course of his long experience, had he known a charge of murder rest on slighter evidence. Not only was it entirely circumstantial, but the greater part of it was practically unproved."
— 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 162:
"My Unkle's account is more circumstantial I must confess—but I believe mine is the true one for all that."
— 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, V.ii:
"Second-hand but clearly from the best possible source - the King himself - [the story] is highly circumstantial, taking twenty-two pages of text."
— 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin, published 2009, page 326:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The detective warned that the evidence was purely ____ and inconclusive.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The case against him was based entirely on ____ evidence tonight.