Meaning & use
kismet
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Meaning
noununcountableliterary
Fate or destiny, especially an outcome that feels destined and often pleasing.
Grammar: Usually no article; say by kismet or pure kismet, not a kismet.
Patterns
- kismet that ...
- by kismet
- pure kismet
Meeting her future business partner on that delayed train felt like kismet.
He joked that it was kismet when his lost passport turned up at the hotel.
They treated the sudden job offer as kismet rather than luck.
Common combinations
- pure kismet
- Their identical flight delays were pure kismet.
- by kismet
- By kismet, the only open seat was beside an old mentor.
- believe in kismet
- She does not believe in kismet; she trusts careful planning.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fate
- Neutral and common; kismet sounds more poetic and often suggests a welcome destiny.
- destiny
- Stronger and more solemn, implying an unavoidable path rather than a fortunate coincidence.
- providence
- Suggests divine care or a guiding power, so it fits religious contexts more than kismet.
Opposites
Commonly confused: kismet or karma?
kismet vs karma
Karma is the spiritual law of cause and effect across actions or lives; kismet is simply fate or destiny.
Practice
They called their unexpected reunion ___, as if it had been meant to happen.
Choose one answer.
Kismet means destiny with a romantic or literary tone, matching 'meant to happen.' Coincidence is plausible but stresses chance without destiny; complaint and timetable do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kismet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.