freak occurrence
Once-in-a-lifetime event
A freak occurrence is an event so unusual or unexpected that it seems to defy normal patterns: The power outage was a freak occurrence caused by a squirrel in the transformer.
The phrase emphasizes that something happened outside the range of what could reasonably be anticipated—a statistical anomaly, a one-in-a-million event.
Often used to downplay blame or suggest the event couldn't have been prevented.
- anomalyDeparture from the expected
- flukeChance stroke of luck
- miracleSupernatural occurrence beyond explanation
- act of GodUnforeseeable natural catastrophe
- glitchMinor system fault
aberration · oddity · twist · twist of fate · lightning · bolt from the blue · coincidence · rarity · once in a blue moon · chance · accident · long shot · phenomenon · strange · bizarre · unexpected · black swan · against all odds
- Exceptionsexception, exemption, exclusion, special case, anomaly
- one-of-a-kindprototype, one-shot, standalone
freak occurrenceroutine
Regular sequence of actions
standard practice · business as usual · matter of course · the usual · periodicity
freak occurrencenorm
Accepted behavioral standard
normalcy · par for the course · nothing special · status quo
freak occurrencepar for the course
Usual, predictable outcome
business as usual · nothing special · matter of course · textbook case
freak, freaks, freaked, freaking, freakish, freaky, freakishly, occur, occurs