as in probability
the quality or state of being likely to occur
the weatherman on TV said that the likelihood of rain today was fairly high
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Recent Examples of likelihood
The likelihood of Ritchie being in the rotation by the end of this month may not as be as high, even with Joey Wentz going down with a torn ACL on Tuesday and two other pitchers already on the shelf.
—
Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Nominate it as one of America's Top Workplaces Oil prices have surged nearly 40% since the start of the war in Iran, boosting prices throughout the economy and weakening the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
The likelihood of lightning increases as a thunderstorm gets closer and reaches its highest point when the storm is directly overhead.
—Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
But what is the likelihood of that actually happening?
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for likelihood
Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 10 Mar. 2026
Nominate it as one of America's Top Workplaces Oil prices have surged nearly 40% since the start of the war in Iran, boosting prices throughout the economy and weakening the likelihood of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
The likelihood of lightning increases as a thunderstorm gets closer and reaches its highest point when the storm is directly overhead.
—Kansas City Star Weather Bot, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026
But what is the likelihood of that actually happening?
—Matt Richardson, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for likelihood
Recent Examples of Synonyms for likelihood
probability
Noun
-
One European Central Bank policymaker cautioned against rushing to action, but nevertheless said that the probability of the next move in interest rates being an increase rather than a cut had gone up, Bloomberg reported.—
Alaa Shahine Salha,
semafor.com,
11 Mar. 2026
-
The probability of lightning strikes rises as a thunderstorm approaches and peaks when the storm is directly above.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Likelihood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/likelihood. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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