SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
circumstantial
adjective
Based on surrounding facts that support an inference about what happened.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Supporting an inference
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIndirect evidence can be strong. Circumstantial does not itself mean unreliable or speculative.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See circumstantial in use
The matching footprints were circumstantial evidence that someone had entered the shed.
Damp trails beside the toy-boat course were circumstantial evidence that someone had tested a model early, but no observer had seen the trial.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license