Likely definition
Likely is an adjective meaning "has a good chance of being the case or of coming about." It has 4 meanings, as an adjective and an adverb, listed below with example sentences.
- Part of speech
- adjective, adverb
- Syllables
- 2
- Letters
- 6
- How common
- Everyday word
Likely as an adjective
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
"these services are likely to be available to us all before long"
expected to become or be; in prospect
Same sense: potential
within the realm of credibility
"not a very likely excuse"
Likely as an adverb
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
Same sense: probably, in all probability, in all likelihood, belike
Synonyms and antonyms
- potential
- probably definition
- in all probability
- in all likelihood
- belike
Opposite: unlikely.
How to say likely
Likely has 2 syllables and rhymes with unlikely. Syllable counts and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary.
Words that rhyme with likely
- unlikely
LIKELY in word games
- Scrabble
- 13
- Words With Friends
- 14
- Anagrams
- 0
Is LIKELY a valid Scrabble word? Yes, it is in the ENABLE list most word games use. Check LIKELY in the word checker, or unscramble LIKELY to see the shorter words in its letters.
Definitions and examples from Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0). Browse more words in the dictionary.