Meaning & use
happening
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something that takes place, especially an event that seems unusual or worth noticing.
Grammar: Usually plural: strange happenings; the singular is rarer.
Patterns
- a strange happening
- happenings in somewhere
Locals reported strange happenings at the old farmhouse.
The diary records the daily happenings of village life.
It was quite a happening, with music, fireworks and a surprise guest.
adjectivebefore a nouninformalold-fashioned
Lively, fashionable and full of exciting activity.
Grammar: Appears before a noun or after a linking verb: a happening club; the place is really happening.
Patterns
- a happening place
- be happening
This neighborhood is the most happening part of the city.
They opened a happening little cafe on the corner.
In the sixties, London was the happening place to be.
nouncountablespecialist
A loosely planned artistic performance, popular in the 1960s, in which the audience often takes part.
Grammar: Takes an or the: the artist staged a happening.
Patterns
- stage a happening
The artist staged a happening in an empty parking lot.
Visitors were invited to join the happening and paint on the walls.
Critics still discuss the first happening held in New York.
Word forms
| plural | happenings |
|---|
Common combinations
- strange happenings
- There were strange happenings in the library after dark.
- recent happenings
- The newsletter summarizes the recent happenings at school.
- what's happening
- What's happening at the town hall this weekend?
- strange happening
- It was a strange happening that nobody could explain.
- a happening place
- The riverside has become a happening place for young people.
Synonyms and how they differ
- event
- Is the ordinary, neutral word, while happening suggests something unexpected or notable.
- occurrence
- Is more formal and often means a thing that occurs by chance or regularly, whereas happening has a livelier tone.
- incident
- Usually refers to something unpleasant or requiring attention, such as an accident, where happening is more neutral.
- trendy
- Fits the adjective sense best but is about fashion, while happening stresses lively activity.
Opposites
Word family
- happen verb
- to take place
- happenstance noun
- a chance circumstance
Commonly confused: happening or happenstance?
happening vs happenstance
Happenstance means a chance coincidence, while a happening is a notable event.
Practice
The villagers were frightened by the strange ____ in the forest at night.
Choose one answer.
A noun is needed after the adjective strange, and happenings is the plural noun. Happens and happened are verbs, and happily is an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “happening”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.