likely

likely
I
(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
adj. credible; suitable, promising. See liability, agreement, chance, possibility. Ant., unlikely.
II
(Roget's IV) modif.
1. [Probable]
Syn. apparent, probable, seeming, credible, possible, feasible, presumable, conceivable, reasonable, conjecturable, practicable, workable, attainable, achievable, ostensible, surmisable, inferable, believable, rational, thinkable, imaginable, plausible, to be supposed, supposable, to be guessed, anticipated, expected, imminent, destined, assumable, grantable, persuasive, warrantable, as like as not.
Ant. impossible*, doubtful, questionable.
2. [Promising]
Syn. suitable, apt, assuring; see fit 1 , 2 , hopeful 2 .
3. [Believable]
Syn. plausible, true, acceptable; see convincing 2 .
4. [Apt]
Syn. inclined, tending, disposed, predisposed, apt, prone, liable, subject to, on the verge of, in the habit of, given to, in favor of, having a weakness for.
Syn.- likely suggests probability or an eventuality that can reasonably be expected [ he's not likely to win ] ; liable and apt are loosely or informally used equivalents of likely , but in strict discrimination, liable implies exposure or susceptibility to something undeSirable [ you're liable to hurt yourself playing with that knife ] and apt suggests a natural or habitual inclination or tendency [ such people are apt to be fearful ] ; prone suggests a propensity or predisposition to something that seems almost inevitable [ she's prone to have accidents ]
III
(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.
probable, apt, promising, liable, expected, anticipated, presumable, plausible, *in the cards, destined.
ANT.: unlikely, improbable, doubtful
IV
(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Having a chance of happening or being true: contingent, possible, probable. See LIKELY. 2. Based on probability or presumption: assumptive, presumable, presumptive, probable, prospective. Idiom: taken for granted. See BELIEF, LIKELY. 3. Capable of being anticipated, considered, or imagined: conceivable, earthly, imaginable, mortal, possible, thinkable. Idioms: humanly possible, within the bounds (or range or realm) of possibility. See POSSIBLE. 4. Inspiring confidence or hope: cheering, encouraging, heartening, hopeful, promising. See HELP. 5. Having or showing a tendency or likelihood: apt, disposed, given, inclined, liable, prone. See LIKELY.

English dictionary for students. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • likely — [līk′lē] adj. likelier, likeliest [ME likly, prob. aphetic < OE geliclic (or < ? ON likligr): see LIKE1 & LY1] 1. apparently true to the facts; credible; probable [a likely cause] 2. seeming as if it would happen or might happen; reasonably …   English World dictionary

  • Likely — Like ly, a. [Compar. {Likelier} (l[imac]k l[i^]*[ e]r); superl. {Likeliest}.] [That is, like like. See {Like}, a.] 1. Worthy of belief; probable; credible; as, a likely story. [1913 Webster] It seems likely that he was in hope of being busy and… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • likely — 1. As an adverb, likely needs the support of a qualifying or intensifying word such as more, quite, or very (They ve quite likely left by now / It s more likely a toadstool), whereas in AmE it often stands alone: • It is possible to predict that… …   Modern English usage

  • likely — ► ADJECTIVE (likelier, likeliest) 1) such as well might be the case; probable. 2) promising. ► ADVERB ▪ probably. ● a likely story! Cf. ↑a likely story! …   English terms dictionary

  • Likely — may refer to:* Likely, British Columbia, Canada * Likely McBrien (1892 1956), leading Australian rules football administrator in the Victorian Football Leagueee also* Likely Airport …   Wikipedia

  • likely — [adj] probable, apt, hopeful acceptable, achievable, anticipated, assuring, attainable, believeable, conceivable, conjecturable, credible, destined, disposed, expected, fair, favorite, feasible, given to, imaginable, inclined, in favor of,… …   New thesaurus

  • Likely — Like ly, adv. In all probability; probably. [1913 Webster] While man was innocent he was likely ignorant of nothing that imported him to know. Glanvill. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • likely — (adj.) c.1300, perhaps from O.N. likligr likely, from likr like (see LIKE (Cf. like) (adj.)). Old English had cognate geliclic. Meaning having the appearance of being strong and capable is from mid 15c., though now mostly confined to American… …   Etymology dictionary

  • likely — index apparent (presumptive), appropriate, believable, circumstantial, convincing, deductible (provable) …   Law dictionary

  • likely — 1 *probable, possible Analogous words: credible, believable, colorable, *plausible: reasonable, *rational Antonyms: unlikely Contrasted words: *doubtful, dubious, questionable, problematic: * …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • likely — like|ly1 W1S1 [ˈlaıkli] adj comparative likelier superlative likeliest [Date: 1300 1400; : Old Norse; Origin: glikligr, from glikr like ] 1.) something that is likely will probably happen or is probably true ≠ ↑unlikely ▪ Snow showers are likely… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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