Likely

How to spell likely

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce likely

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does likely mean?

1. adjectiveProbable; expected to happen or to be true.
2. adverbProbably; in all probability.

Likely in a sentence

• adjective

  Heavy traffic is the most likely reason she was late.

• adverb

  The parcel will most likely arrive before noon.

• adjective

  A likely outcome of the merger is several job losses.

• adverb

  Prices will very likely rise again next quarter.

Where does likely come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This word traces back to the Old Norse líkligr, meaning 'having the appearance of being suitable or probable', which was carried into northern England by Scandinavian settlers in the early medieval period. It is built on the same root that gives us the everyday word 'like', whose old sense was about resemblance and appearance rather than fondness. By Middle English the form had settled as 'likely', meaning something that looks set to happen or seems true to expectation. The adverb sense, equivalent to 'probably', grew out of the same adjective and became common alongside it. Because the base is simply 'like' plus the familiar '-ly', the spelling is regular: there is no hidden letter, just the silent reminder that the 'e' of 'like' is kept before the suffix.

How the word is built

• like (from líkligr: having the appearance of)
• -ly (adjective/adverb suffix)