could not substitute _fortune_; as personified, _Fortune_ is regarded as
having a fitful purpose, _Chance_ as purposeless; we speak of fickle
_Fortune_, blind _Chance_; "_Fortune_ favors the brave." The slaughter
of men is an _incident_ of battle; unexpected defeat, the _fortune_ of
war. Since the unintended is often the undesirable, _accident_ tends to
signify some _calamity_ or _disaster_, unless the contrary is expressed,
as when we say a fortunate or happy _accident_. An _adventure_ is that
which may turn out ill, a _misadventure_ that which does turn out ill. A
slight disturbing _accident_ is a _mishap_. Compare EVENT; HAZARD.

Antonyms:

appointment, decree, intention, ordainment, preparation,
calculation, fate, law, ordinance, provision,
certainty, foreordination, necessity, plan, purpose.

Prepositions:

The accident _of_ birth; an accident _to_ the machinery.

* * * * *

ACQUAINTANCE.

Synonyms:

association, experience, fellowship, intimacy,
companionship, familiarity, friendship, knowledge.

_Acquaintance_ between persons supposes that each knows the other; we
may know a public man by his writings or speeches, and by sight, but can
not claim _acquaintance_ unless he personally knows us. There may be
pleasant _acquaintance_ with little _companionship_; and conversely,
much _companionship_ with little _acquaintance_, as between busy clerks
at adjoining desks. So there may be _association_ in business without
_intimacy_ or _friendship_. _Acquaintance_ admits of many degrees, from
a slight or passing to a familiar or intimate _acquaintance_; but
_acquaintance_ unmodified commonly signifies less than _familiarity_ or
_intimacy_. As regards persons, _familiarity_ is becoming restricted to
the undesirable sense, as in the proverb, "_Familiarity_ breeds
contempt;" hence, in personal relations, the word _intimacy_, which
refers to mutual knowledge of thought and feeling, is now uniformly
preferred. _Friendship_ includes _acquaintance_ with some degree of
_intimacy_, and ordinarily _companionship_, though in a wider sense
_friendship_ may exist between those who have never met, but know each
other only by word and deed. _Acquaintance_ does not involve
_friendship_, for one may be well acquainted with an enemy. _Fellowship_
involves not merely _acquaintance_ and _companionship_, but sympathy as
well. There may be