likelihood

English

Alternative forms

• likelyhood (obsolete, now a misspelling)

Etymology

From Middle English liklihode, equivalent to likely +‎ -hood.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪklihʊd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

likelihood (countable and uncountable, plural likelihoods)

1. The probability of a specified outcome; the chance of something happening; probability; the state or degree of being probable.

   In all likelihood the meeting will be cancelled.

   The likelihood is that the inflation rate will continue to rise.

   • 2017 May 16, Maurie Backman, “Here's how to become a millionaire on $56,000 a year”, in CNN Money‎^[1]:

     While starting early can increase your likelihood of attaining millionaire status, the investments you choose play an equally important role.

2. (statistics, probability theory) The probability that some fixed outcome was generated by a random distribution with a specific parameter.
3. Likeness, resemblance.
   • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], chapter 3, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, 1st book:

     There is no likelihood between pure light and black darkness, […] or between righteousness and reprobation.

4. (archaic) Appearance, show, sign, expression.

Synonyms

• likeliness
• liability
• odds

Antonyms

• unlikelihood

Derived terms

• in all likelihood
• Whittle likelihood

Translations

probability

• Basque: egiantz (eu)
• Bulgarian: вероятност (bg) f (verojatnost)
• Catalan: probabilitat f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可能性 (zh) (kěnéngxìng)

• Dutch: waarschijnlijkheid (nl)
• Finnish: todennäköisyys (fi)
• French: vraisemblance (fr) f
• German: Wahrscheinlichkeit (de) f
• Greek: πιθανότητα (el) f (pithanótita), ενδεχόμενο (el) n (endechómeno)

  Ancient: εἰκός n (eikós)

• Italian: verosimiglianza (it) f, verisimiglianza f, probabilità (it) f
• Japanese: 可能性 (ja) (かのうせい, kanōsei)
• Korean: 가능성(可能性) (ko) (ganeungseong)
• Macedonian: веро́јатност f (verójatnost)
• Maori: tūponotanga
• Plautdietsch: Mäajlichkjeit f
• Polish: prawdopodobieństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: probabilidade (pt) f
• Romanian: probabilitate (ro), verosimilitate (ro)
• Russian: вероя́тность (ru) f (verojátnostʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: vjerojatnost (sh) f
• Spanish: probabilidad (es) f
• Swedish: sannolikhet (sv) c

mathematical likelihood

• Bulgarian: вероятност (bg) f (verojatnost)
• Catalan: probabilitat f, versemblança f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 似然性 (sìránxìng) (Mainland China), 概似性 (gàisìxìng) (Taiwan)

• Finnish: uskottavuus (fi)
• French: vraisemblance (fr)
• Greek: ^{(please verify)} πιθανοφάνεια (el) f (pithanofáneia)
• Italian: verosimiglianza (it)
• Japanese: 尤度 (ja) (ゆうど, yūdo)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 우도 (udo)
• Macedonian: веро́јатност f (verójatnost)
• Polish: wiarygodność (pl) f
• Portuguese: verossimilhança (pt) f, probabilidade (pt) f
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} vjerojatnost (sh) f
• Spanish: verosimilitud (es) f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} sannolikhet (sv) c

resemblance

• Bulgarian: прилика (bg) f (prilika)
• Finnish: samankaltaisuus (fi), yhdennäköisyys (fi)
• Macedonian: сли́чност f (slíčnost)
• Polish: podobieństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: semelhança (pt) f
• Russian: схо́дство (ru) n (sxódstvo)

appearance

• Finnish: ulkonäkö (fi)