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likely

[lahyk-lee]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

probably or apparently destined (usually followed by an infinitive): something not likely to happen.

seeming like truth, fact, or certainty; reasonably to be believed or expected; believable: a likely story.

seeming to fulfill requirements or expectations; apparently suitable: a likely place for a restaurant.

showing promise of achievement or excellence; promising: a fine, likely young man.

adverb

probably: We will likely stay home this evening.

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Likely is always a great word to know.

So is ort. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English likli < Old Norse līkligr. See like¹, -ly

Can be confused: apt, likely (see synonym note at apt; see usage note at the current entry).

Synonyms
3. appropriate.

Usage note
Likely in the senses “probably destined” and “probably” is often preceded by a qualifying word like very, more, or quite: The board is very likely to turn down the request. The new system will quite likely increase profits. However, despite statements to the contrary in some usage guides, likely in these senses is standard without such a qualifier in all varieties of English: It will likely be a bitter debate. EXPANDThe shipment will likely arrive on Thursday. See also apt, liable.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To likely

Example Sentences

It is well established in the research on higher education that women are less likely to achieve tenure than men.

And killing a white person seems disproportionately likely to secure a death sentence.

The gas likely burst forth as little as one million to ten million years ago.

EXPAND

It is well established in the research on higher education that women are less likely to achieve tenure than men.

And killing a white person seems disproportionately likely to secure a death sentence.

The gas likely burst forth as little as one million to ten million years ago.

Buying ecofriendly products might make you more likely to behave badly later on.

Here then are ten of the animals likely to have killed our ancient and not so ancient kin.

Local climate gives you a clue to the likely soil pH.

Stick with the crowd and you probably won't win, although you likely won't finish last.

Non-cheaters were also less likely to believe that their peers had cheated, the studies found.

Think about that, and then tell me how likely a double-dip seems.

Such an eruption would likely send hot ash and gas flying down the northwestern flanks of the mountain.

Now, a study has confirmed that older mothers are more likely to give birth to a child with autism, too.

But it isn't likely to appear anytime soon in a dictionary.

Potatoes cut that way make crispy hash browns but pancakes that are more likely to fall apart.

The more complex the game, the more likely the game will ship with bugs.

Few colleges reported that hiring freezes were likely.

What this means is that good-looking men are even more likely to conceive children than was previously believed.

Inbred offspring are vulnerable to disease and other handicaps and are less likely to survive than normal young.

The kids have been home for hours with little supervision, and have more than likely snacked on whatever they could find.

Try drawing your hand when you can't see it--your picture is likely distorted.

More restrained, less likely to invade adjacent plantings add to my plant list.

They got much better grades, were more likely to remain married and were less dependent on welfare programs.

Prosperity is a more likely cause of unrest than youth unemployment.

And the food reaching them is likely to leave them malnourished, experts say.

Children who receive unequal treatment are more likely to grow into depressed adults.

When the aliens arrive, they will likely seize the cell phones.

Now a third blue geranium is likely to replace both in our affections.

If newspapers and magazines begin charging people to read their output, the pirates are likely to turn up, and quickly.

The new skeleton is thought to be complete and was likely preserved by its cave setting.

The researchers found that if a snake eats a toad-free diet, it doesn't have any venom-and is more likely to flee than fight.

It can be whipped up in no time with ingredients you're likely to have on hand.

Economists and policymakers will be watching closely to see which way older worker participation is likely to tip.

Pugh added that descriptions of the explosion suggest the meteor was rocky and likely sprayed debris over several square miles.

Methylmercury from the coast or surface, however, likely would be the result of industrial pollution.

Nothing slows down a cook more or is more likely to cause injury than dull knives.

The newcomers are likely to be serious financial firms, some of them foreign.

There may have been other paintings but they were likely destroyed by the water that now fills the cave.

Left to their own devices, nasturtiums will reseed in mild climates and are likely to wander and show up in surprising places.

And leaving at this point is likely to make things even worse for girls across the country.

History buffs will no doubt head for the star artifacts, but younger visitors are likely to head for the screens.

On the other hand, you're likely to tread on ripe figs when they drop onto the ground and melt into a puddle of sticky syrup.

Even if higher private saving blunts the effect, some crowding out is eventually all too likely.

Time travel would likely be a fairly traumatic experience, leaving you groggy, maybe with some short-term memory loss.

Flowering is heaviest in spring, but some bloom is likely at any time add to my plant list.

As a result, unemployment is likely to remain high in the rich economies even as it falls in the poorer ones.

First, branches spread out in almost equal threes, creating weak crotches that are likely to split.

Men are more likely to seek it out in their late twenties.

Water early in the day, when there's less moisture loss due to heat evaporation and wind is less likely to blow water away.

One of the biggest investments of time and money you are likely to make.

Even the simplest open fire is likely to draw people outdoors.

Educated women are more likely to go out to work, more likely to demand contraception and less likely to want large families.

When a shoot suddenly dies or blackens as if scorched by fire, fireblight is the likely cause.

While chlorosis may be due to iron-poor soil, it is more likely that iron is present but simply cannot be absorbed by plants.

Instead, shoppers and diners are likely to sport dusty hiking boots and well-worn backpacks.

Fruit left on the tree is likely to split and rot, especially if weather is rainy.

It will protect you if you fall, and also protect you in the much more likely event of falling debris.

Early in the morning, you're likely to see tule elk nurturing their young.

And some even allow you to choose items from a list of what's likely to be available.

Children can walk--or more likely run--the maze created by the clipped boxwood hedges.

Men who want to know whether they're more likely to father a boy or a girl may garner clues from their family tree.

Women appear to be much more likely than men to choose to study abroad because of significant gender-based differences.

Excessively harsh conditions seem to make criminals more likely to re-offend.

When opponents of a game are equally matched, the team dressed in red is more likely to win, according to a new study.

People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change, according to a new study.

The many pests and diseases that beleaguer commercial growers are not likely to plague home gardeners.

Even a midrange rise would likely disrupt the planet's.

US water utilities have known about the prevalence of a likely carcinogen in water sources for seven years and have failed.

Hiring from countries where faculty more likely to be obsequious and acquiesce to anything no matter how unethical.

What happens in the brain when you hear an accent--and why you are less likely to trust the speaker.

In fact, those privileged few drinking a cup of the dark elixir were likely members of the high priesthood or.

Motorola's local reps claim the man was likely using either a fake phone or off-brand batteries.

Mothers living near freeways and congested roads are more likely to give birth to premature.

So government policies are more likely to reflect the aspirations of the people and result in more substantial change.

Instead, they are twice as likely as men with children to work in part-time or nontenure-track positions.

Because the tendons work this way, roosting heads-down would make the bats more likely to fall.

Even if you were not saved by penicillin or some other antibiotic yourself, one of your ancestors likely was.

They'll also be more likely to suffer from pests such as codling moth, since closely set fruit provides.

But real-life energy weapons likely won't work that way.

Any teaching job where a tie is required/encouraged is also likely to feature framed diplomas.

The sun's role in global warming has long been a matter of debate and is likely to remain a contentious topic.

They also queried the students about whether they were likely to make exercise a routine part of their day.

You're more likely to die from exposure to toxic pollutants in plane exhaust than in a plane crash, a new study says.

You're more likely to stick with a tough problem, even if you fail at first.

Students on large campuses are more likely to have.

Women with female first born children are more likely to be single parents.

Look under a chunk of plastic afloat in the ocean and you're likely to spot a fish or two.

Those quolls that had been taught that toads tasted bad were more likely to ignore the live toad and less likely to attack.

Hairline cracks will likely develop when the oven is heated, but they can be sealed.

When traveling is so likely to include delays and problems, my enthusiasm wanes.

Divorce becomes more likely for parents with daughters than sons.

It is quite likely that these were a local people".

Scientists are taking a fresh look at obsessive-compulsive disorder, identifying its likely causes-and hints for new therapies.

But clashes are less likely to occur if one or two rival monkeys embrace.

Halfmann says, and preferred the deck likely to give them a bigger but distant payout.

In addition, plants and the animals that depend on them will likely migrate to higher elevations.

Individuals with amygdala damage are more likely to lay a risky.

Even if they never show up, though, people are so fond of the dinosaur that it will likely be restored anyway.

It could also signal that the subject is more likely to get.

The better it does its job, the less likely you are to stay awake to appreciate it.

The reason for that could be that mothers are more likely to catch a viral infection during that time of the year.

The price of beef, and other foodstuffs, will likely rise.

In the future, such programs are likely to place much greater emphasis.

Meanwhile, the downturn is likely to knock back the early signs of an emerging recovery in housing transactions.

The trait in amphibians is likely an adaptation to life between water and land and their ability to respire through the skin.

Familiarity with an idea makes some people more likely to forget where it came from-and confuse fact with fiction.

Hers is not a household name, and it is not likely to become one.

So the industry looks likely to consolidate as well as shrink.

The increase is part of a long-term climate shift that is likely to persist for several.

When people see health food as larger, they are more likely to want to eat it.

Go to the dinosaur hall of almost any major natural history museum, and you are likely to find the same creatures.

If you take a few minutes to put your lunch together instead of reaching for a packaged or take-out meal, you'll likely eat.

Kantrowitz has found that middle-income students are more likely to win private scholarships than their low-income peers.

And women are more likely to provide sound advice on investing their parents' nest egg:.

Leaked radiation likely to affect marine ecosystems more than terrestrial ones.

Red oak is known to be a more porous wood and therefore more likely to leak.

Fresh out of high school, you're less likely to have credit cards, a car.

Social tensions are likely to remain high in the near term, with sporadic demonstrations and other forms of social unrest.

Animals lacking the gene were more likely to undergo shock, suggesting that the.

Fatal attacks are not more likely among any age group or in response to any specific human activity.

Students who enroll part time are less engaged than their full-time peers, and more likely to drop out of college.

Brazil's role as a global energy producer is likely to increase dramatically over the next ten years.

Why some people are more likely to forget traumatic events.

You're likely to have the pretty little stretch of sand backed by sage-covered cliffs all to yourself.

Behavior that may be brilliant in academic debate is more likely to create ill will when directed toward friends and colleagues.

Perpetually plugged-in youngsters are more likely to suffer poor psychological health.

Onion said that during the economic downturn, people have been less likely to make stock gifts.

But for the remainder of this year, growth is not likely to match the spectacular pace seen in the first three months.

Obese surgical patients were far less likely to die of a couple of specific respiratory problems than were non-obese.

Couples who live together before they get married are less likely to stay married, a new study has found.

Hello--to explore possibilities outside of the academy, non profits/foundations are likely places to explore.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

likely (ˈlaɪklɪ)

—*adj*
1.	( usually foll by an infinitive ) tending or inclined; apt: likely to rain
2.	probable: a likely result
3.	believable or feasible; plausible
4.	appropriate for a purpose or activity
5.	having good possibilities of success: a likely candidate
6.	dialect chiefly (US) attractive, agreeable, or enjoyable: her likely ways won her many friends

—*adv*
7.	probably or presumably
8.	as likely as not very probably

usage Likely as an adverb is preceded by another, intensifying adverb, as in it will very likely rain or it will most likely rain. Its use without an intensifier, as in it will likely rain is regarded as unacceptable by most users of British English, though it is common in colloquial US English

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

likely

c.1300, perhaps from O.N. likligr "likely," from likr "like" (adj.). O.E. had cognate geliclic. Meaning "having the appearance of being strong and capable" is from mid-15c., though now mostly confined to Amer.Eng. Sense of "good-looking" is from 1470. Meaning "probably" is attested from late 14c., now

EXPAND

principally in Amer.Eng.

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Matching Quote

"Predictions of the future are never anything but projections of present automatic processes and procedures, that is, of occurrences that are likely to come to pass if men do not act and if nothing unexpected happens; every action, for better or worse, and every accident necessarily destroys the whole pattern in whose frame the prediction moves and where it finds its evidence."

-Hannah Arendt

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likely

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