1
as in probable
having a high chance of occurring
if you don't graduate from high school, your likely fate is a low-paying job
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in promising
having qualities which inspire hope
this looks like a likely spot for good trout fishing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in plausible
worthy of being accepted as true or reasonable
we didn't find her excuse a very likely story
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in pretty
very pleasing to look at
a likely gal such as yourself should have no trouble getting a date
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in probably
by reasonable assumption
the picnic will likely be cancelled if the storm continues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of likely
Adam Crafton, New York Times, 14 June 2025
Key inputs to this call include the tendencies of mature bull markets, some likely profit-margin slippage from tariffs, moderating earnings gains and the chance that the Fed will resume rate cuts in coming months.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 June 2025
Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 16 June 2025
Magic officials appear to think that a fully healthy roster will be a top-five team in the East through the end of the decade, which, in turn, likely would mean that those outgoing picks to the Grizzlies will land anywhere from 20th to 30th overall most of the time.
—Josh Robbins, New York Times, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for likely
Adjective
As of last week, the Sundowns’ match against Fluminense had sold less than 10,000 tickets, and even games involving Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain in Pasadena and Seattle are likely to fall way short of selling out.
—Adam Crafton, New York Times, 14 June 2025
Key inputs to this call include the tendencies of mature bull markets, some likely profit-margin slippage from tariffs, moderating earnings gains and the chance that the Fed will resume rate cuts in coming months.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 14 June 2025
Adverb
If your privacy practices have been less than perfect in the past—and whose have not, given the vanishingly tiny odds of evading every form of digital data collection—additional information about you from over the years is likely available from hundreds of data brokers.
—Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 16 June 2025
Magic officials appear to think that a fully healthy roster will be a top-five team in the East through the end of the decade, which, in turn, likely would mean that those outgoing picks to the Grizzlies will land anywhere from 20th to 30th overall most of the time.
—Josh Robbins, New York Times, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for likely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for likely
Adjective
-
Wind gusts of up to 40 mph and pea-sized hail (0.25 inches) are probable.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
6 June 2025
-
Wind gusts of up to 40 mph and marble-sized hail (0.5 inches) are probable.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
The most promising opportunities often lie at the intersection of significant pain and institutional blindness—where inefficiency has been accepted as inevitable.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
-
As of now, the seemingly inevitable mass adoption of electrification has yet to live up to the hype, internal-combustion engines continue firing on all cylinders, and hybrid technology appears to be the most promising path ahead.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
11 June 2025
Adjective
-
Most of these magnetic fields have a plausible origin story.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
5 June 2025
-
Using a plausible cover story, the red team passed front-desk security, loitered in stairwells, and accessed upper levels with lower foot traffic.—
Jochen Schwenk,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
This pretty appetizer is the brain child of my friend and our Senior Food Editor Josh Miller, who is a fellow avid pool host who hates turning the oven on in the summer.—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
13 June 2025
-
And then, on the evening of May 4, Mars made a very close pass near the Beehive Star Cluster (M44), a very pretty sight as viewed through binoculars or a low-power, wide-field telescope.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
13 June 2025
Adverb
-
The embarrassing part is the inability to recognize a joke by probably 80 percent people here.—
Theo Burman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 June 2025
-
Francis’s wan desire for a spiritual element to his reconciliation with his brothers is probably Anderson’s get-out-of-jail-free card for this movie being aware of its own shallowness.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
12 June 2025
Adjective
-
Dutch’s mission is rooted in making that bond possible—for more people—by providing affordable, ongoing access to care.—
Sindhya Valloppillil,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
-
An actor had to turn part of himself into the character in order to convince the audience, and this was only possible with knowledge.—
Erica Stern
June 9,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
Adjective
-
Houses are made of wood and painted bright shades of red, yellow or blue.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
-
The dress featured white block trims against the bright blue.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
This reality stems from a confluence of erroneous strategic assumptions, associated fiscal constraints, bureaucratic inertia, and risk taken based on a low probability of credible threat to justify the cost of protection.—
David A. Deptula,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
-
The duo’s sibling dynamic drives the film, thanks to Poyser’s credible script and character work.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Likely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/likely. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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