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Chance that

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Chance-that /tʃɑːns ðæt/ · phrase

A short documentary narration — meaning, origin, and how the word is used.

In this course, chance that means a moment of cautious optimism or wary prediction. A related lesson is the chance course. One citation is the Cambridge entry for chance, and a second is the Cambridge learner entry for chance. Encyclopaedic background is in Chance.

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Podcast 2 · Daily Use

In Conversation

Two British speakers using "chance-that" naturally in everyday talk.

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Podcast 3 · Prompt Engineering

Prompting with "chance-that"

An instructor and developer explore real, copy-ready AI prompts built around the word.

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Transcript: “Chance that” vocabulary micro-course

Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Chance that for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.

Podcast 1 — Introduction & meaning

Narrator: Today's word is Chance-that — phrase, pronounced /tʃɑːns ðæt/, with the stress on chance.

Narrator: It serves as a rhetorical marker to introduce a hypothetical scenario or a risky possibility, often used to frame a tentative conjecture.

Narrator: In plain English, it functions as a verbal signpost that says, consider the possibility that this might occur.

Narrator: It is formed from the noun chance, derived from the Old French word cheance meaning falling or happening, combined with the relative pronoun that.

Narrator: A common collocation is chance that it happens, which describes a moment of cautious optimism or wary prediction.

Narrator: It differs from the phrase the chance is, which is more declarative, whereas chance that feels more like an opening gambit for a speculative idea.

Narrator: In technical contexts, it often introduces a conditional variable when assessing outcome probabilities.

Narrator: The fields of linguistics, logic, and data science rely on this structure to establish parameters for uncertain events.

Narrator: So remember: use chance that when you want to hedge your bets and introduce a potential scenario into your conversation.

Read podcasts 2 and 3

Podcast 2 — In conversation

Speaker A: I often hear people start sentences with CHANCE-THAT, but where does that specific phrasing originate?

Speaker B: It is a functional contraction of the longer phrase there is a chance that, rooted in Middle English expressions regarding fortune.

Speaker A: Could you provide some example sentences to show how it works?

Speaker B: Certainly. Chance that we finish early implies a hope, chance that the server fails implies a warning, and chance that he knows is a query.

Speaker A: Are there any common mistakes I should avoid when using it?

Speaker B: Yes, do not omit the word that, as the phrase needs the subordinating conjunction to bridge the probability to the clause.

Speaker A: And what about close relatives or alternatives I could use?

Speaker B: You have assuming that as a cousin, possible that as a twin, and given that as an alternative.

Speaker A: That is very helpful, thank you.

Speaker B: It keeps its probabilistic charm!

Podcast 3 — Prompt engineering

Speaker B: Let's use chance-that in AI prompts — useful for stress-testing logic and generating risk mitigation strategies.

Speaker A: How do I apply this to generating a risk report?

Speaker B: Use the phrase to force the AI to brainstorm potential failures in a project timeline.

Prompt: List five project delays based on the chance that the lead developer resigns mid-sprint.

Speaker A: Can it help me refine my software testing scripts?

Speaker B: Absolutely, it sets up conditional edge cases for your automated tests.

Prompt: Generate a test suite for the login module considering the chance that the database connection times out unexpectedly.

Speaker A: What about when I am drafting technical documentation?

Speaker B: It helps you define the scope of system warnings for users.

Prompt: Draft a user warning for a cloud storage app regarding the chance that file syncing is interrupted by a weak network signal.

Speaker A: One more?

Speaker B: Use it to simulate user behavior in your UX research documentation.

Prompt: Identify three UI improvements based on the chance that users ignore the primary submit button on mobile devices.