Probable

How to spell probable

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce probable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does probable mean?

1. adjectiveLikely to happen, exist, or be true.

Probable in a sentence

• A delay now seems probable given the weather forecast.

• The most probable cause of the leak was a cracked pipe.

Where does probable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin probabilis, meaning 'provable' or 'worthy of approval', which was built on the verb probare, 'to test, examine, or prove'. That verb in turn rests on probus, an adjective meaning 'good, honest, upright', so the earliest sense was something that could stand up to honest testing. English borrowed the word through Old French probable in the late fourteenth century, at first carrying the idea of something that could be demonstrated or believed on good grounds. Over time the meaning narrowed toward likelihood rather than proof, giving us today's sense of 'likely to happen'. The same probare root sits inside the everyday words 'prove', 'probe', and 'approve', and that shared family explains the single 'b' that trips writers who expect a doubled consonant.

How the word is built

• prob- (from probare: to test, prove)
• -able (capable of, worthy of)