All 3 Uses of
contingent
in
Oryx and Crake
- Kids came and went, desks filled and emptied, friendship was always contingent.
p. 71..4 (definition 1) *contingent = determined by conditions or circumstances not yet established
- Language itself had lost its solidity; it had become thin, contingent, slippery, a viscid film on which he was sliding around like an eyeball on a plate.†
p. 260..3 (definition 2)
- But the rest of the team, he said — the MaddAddamite contingent — was confined to base for the duration.
p. 304..2 (definition 2) *contingent = group
Definitions:
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(1) (contingent as in: contingent upon) to be determined by conditions or circumstances not yet established
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(2) (contingent as in: the Canadian contingent) a sub-group united by something in commonin various senses, including:
- a squad of soldiers sent to do a job
- members of an association at a convention of many associations
- all the women at a meeting with women and men