Likelihood

//ˈlaɪklihʊd// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The probability of a specified outcome; the chance of something happening; probability; the state or degree of being probable. countable, uncountable

    "In all likelihood the meeting will be cancelled."

  2. 2
    the probability of a specified outcome wordnet
  3. 3
    The probability that some fixed outcome was generated by a random distribution with a specific parameter. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    Likeness, resemblance. countable, uncountable

    "There is no likelihood between pure light and black darkness, […]or between righteousness and reprobation."

  5. 5
    Appearance, show, sign, expression. archaic, countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
likelinesslikelinessoddsprobabilityaptitudeaptness

Example

More examples

"Is there any likelihood that Mr Black will agree to the plan?"

Etymology

From Middle English liklihode, equivalent to likely + -hood.

Related phrases

Whittle likelihoodin all likelihoodrandom distribution

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.