Definition

Adverb: 1. Perhaps; possibly: Used to express uncertainty or possibility about something. 2. By chance; accidentally: Used to indicate that something happens without planning or intention.

Usage Examples

• Expressing possibility:
  • Perchance we shall meet again in better times. (Perhaps we will meet again in better times.)
  • He is late; perchance his train was delayed. (He is late; perhaps his train was delayed.)
• Expressing chance:
  • I found the old letter perchance while cleaning the attic. (I found the old letter by chance while cleaning the attic.)

Advanced Usage Notes

• Literary and Archaic Tone: "Perchance" is now considered a literary, formal, or somewhat archaic word. It is rarely used in everyday modern conversation but is common in classic literature, poetry, and for stylistic effect.
• Common in Famous Quotations: It is famously used in Shakespeare's : "To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub." This line ponders the possibility of dreaming after death.

Variants and Related Words

• Peradventure (adverb, archaic): Perhaps; possibly. (e.g., )
• Haply (adverb, archaic): By chance; perhaps.

Synonyms

• Perhaps
• Maybe
• Possibly
• By chance
• Fortuitously

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• "To sleep, perchance to dream": A famous literary idiom from Shakespeare, meaning to sleep, and then perhaps to dream. It is often used to reflect on the uncertainties and potential consequences of an action (like death or a deep sleep).

Adverb

1. by chance
   • perhaps she will call tomorrow
   • we may possibly run into them at the concert
   • it may peradventure be thought that there never was such a time
2. through chance, "To sleep, perchance to dream.."