coincidence
/koʊˈɪnsɪdəns/noun
coincidence is spelled C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, coincidence means “The property of being coincident, occurring at the same time or place” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of coincidence is coincidences or coïncidences.
How many letters and syllables are in coincidence?
| Letters | 11: C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 9.1 times per million words; the 7,553rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is coincidence?
Coincidence appears 9.1 times per million words in written English, the 7,553rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce coincidence?
- UK /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/
- US /koʊˈɪnsɪdəns/
- Australia /kəʉˈɪnsɪdəns/
Coincidence has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-coincidence.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of coincidence
- coincidences plural
- quincidence
- coïncidences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does coincidence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The property of being coincident, occurring at the same time or place.
- 2
The appearance of a meaningful connection between events when there is none.
That the two writers were born and died on the same day is just a coincidence, although there are many conspiracy theories about it.
- 3
A coincidence point.
- 4
A fixed point of a correspondence; a point of a variety corresponding to itself under a correspondence.
noun
- 1
Dated spelling of coincidence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Coincidence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coïncidence |
| Spanish | coincidencia, casualidad |
| German | zufälliges Zusammentreffen, Koinzidenz, Zufall |
| Portuguese | coincidência |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does coincidence come from?
From Middle French coincidence (French coïncidence). By surface analysis, coincide + -ence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).