supervence
Definition
- Verb (intransitive):
- To occur unexpectedly, causing interruption or change to a process: "supervene" means to happen suddenly and unexpectedly, often altering the course of events or a situation.
- To follow as a contingent or additional event: In philosophy or formal usage, it can mean to come as a later, often dependent, occurrence.
Usage Examples
- (An unexpected event interrupted the planned event.)
- (An unforeseen medical issue changed the recovery process.)
- (New information suddenly altered the course of the argument.)
Advanced Usage
- "to supervene upon": to occur in addition to or as a result of something else.
- The economic crisis supervened upon years of political instability. (The crisis happened unexpectedly on top of existing problems.)
Variants and Related Words
Supervenient (adj): occurring as a supervention; additional and contingent.
- The supervenient factors complicated the investigation. (Unexpected additional elements made the inquiry more difficult.)
Supervention (n): the act or instance of supervening.
- The supervention of a new law changed the company's strategy. (The unexpected introduction of a new law altered plans.)
Synonyms
- Intervene: to come between events or points in time.
- Occur: to happen or take place.
- Arise: to emerge or come into being, often unexpectedly.
Phrasal Verbs
- Supervene on: to happen as an addition to or consequence of something.
- A feeling of regret supervened on his initial excitement. (Regret unexpectedly followed his earlier happiness.)
Related Idioms
- Come out of the blue: to happen completely unexpectedly.
- The opportunity supervened, coming out of the blue. (The chance occurred suddenly without warning.)