chain of events
Linked happenings unfolding
A chain of events is a sequence of occurrences where each one leads to or causes the next: A chain of events that began with a flat tire ended with us missing the wedding.
The phrase often appears when explaining how something unexpected came about, emphasizing connections between seemingly unrelated happenings.
- ripple effectCascading secondary results
- cascadeSuccessive downward flow
- snowball effectAccelerating cumulative increase
- seriesOrdered set of related items
- domino effectsCascading series of consequences
knock-on effect · sequence · culmination · outcome · turning point · twist of fate · perfect storm · order · result · progression · causality · concatenation · catalyst · one thing led to another · arc · trigger · interconnection · fallout
- time wordsminute, hour, day, now, soon
- Crash InvestigationsNTSB, crash investigation, crash site, crash scene, black box
- causalitycausation, causality, cause, effect, antecedent
- diagramsflowchart, labeled diagram, Venn diagram, cross section, cross-section
- free willfree will, choice, volition, autonomy, initiative
- metaphorsbroken heart, dead metaphor, mixed metaphor, time is money, extended metaphor
chain of eventsrandom occurrence
coincidence · freak accident · fluke · anomaly · one-off
chain of eventschaos
Complete disorder and confusion
randomness · disorder · disarray · pandemonium · entropy
chain, event, chains, events, chained, eventful, unchain, unchained, chaining