How to use likely in a sentence
40 example sentences · adjective, noun, adverb
Likely means probable; having a greater-than-even chance of occurring. Example: “Rain is likely later this afternoon.”
Examples of likely by meaning
adjectiveProbable; having a greater-than-even chance of occurring.
- Rain is likely later this afternoon.
- His parents — a restless, titanically self-involved father and a mother who cultivated her inner life in strict solitude — seem a much likelier source for his condition.2009 May 24, Laura Miller, “Faking It”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 28 Sep 2021
- Still, Saints looked the likeliest to make the breakthrough, and it came when Jonny Evans could only half-clear a long ball and Chaplow took full advantage.2011 January 29, Ian Hughes, “Southampton 1 - 2 Man Utd”, in BBC
adjectiveReasonably to be expected; apparently destined, probable.
- Do you think there's likely to be snow?
- He is likely to succeed at anything he tries.
- In truth, Tottenham never really looked like taking all three points and this defeat means they face a battle to reach the knockout stages - with their next home game against PAOK Salonika on 30 November likely to prove decisive.2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport
adjectiveAppropriate, suitable; believable; promising, having a good potential.
- Jones is a likely candidate for management.
- The relationship with social status is a likely topic for investigation.
adjectivePlausible; within the realm of credibility.
- not a very likely excuse.
- It is more likely that he was born in a small village in the USSR, while his father was serving as a Soviet-backed general during the second world war.2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian
adjectiveLeading with high probability to some specified outcome.
- a likely recipe for disaster.
adjectiveAttractive; pleasant.
- I found a likely spot under a shady tree for the picnic.
adverbProbably.
- Likely he’ll win the election in this economy.
- He’ll likely win the election in this economy.
- He likely will win the election in this economy.
More sentences with likely
- A dish called "plank salmon" likely includes a salmon filet cooked on a plank.From the entry plank
- Those who want to muzzle everyone else are likely nothing less than pseudovirtuous.From the entry muzzle
- After enduring traumatic experiences, many people are likely to remember every second of them.From the entry every second
- If a nuclear war ever breaks out, military facilities are likely to be nuked first.From the entry nuke
- Live with aversion to classic men's wear, likely die with aversion to classic men's wear.From the entry aversion
- With two dice, you're more likely to roll seven than ten.From the entry roll
- The fisherman cast the plug into a likely pool, hoping to catch a whopper.From the entry plug
- If the ball hits the splice, it is likely to dolly up for an easy catch.From the entry splice
- Are there likely to be any openings on the Supreme Court in the next four years?From the entry opening
- Pomegranates are as seedy as any fruit you are likely to see.From the entry seedy
- The royal engagement is likely to be a top talker right through the wedding.From the entry talker
- Menstruators are likelier to need an iron supplement than non-menstruators, whose diet alone is usually sufficient.From the entry supplement
- That rinky-dink shelf is likely to collapse if you fill it with books.From the entry rinky-dink
- Anyone with an unsubverted or cleansed frame of reference likely couldn't bear seeing such mistreatment and violence.From the entry frame of reference
- He bought the land on spec — he thinks it's likely to be rezoned commercial and subdivided.From the entry on spec
- Since then, the ex-minister has been in absentia, likely relaxing on his private yacht.From the entry in absentia
- If you miss a flight, the airline will likely cancel the down line.From the entry down line
- He has been running on empty for a while. It's likely the project will be canceled.From the entry run on empty
- He told me he couldn't come because his budgie had fallen ill. A likely story!From the entry likely story
- A proofreader that does not know foreign languages is likely to miscorrect Latin words.From the entry miscorrect
- Local businesses are more likely to respend their profits in the community.From the entry respend
- A corporate takeover of this project is likely to alienate the user base.From the entry user base
- Don't reop Jack until I find out whether he's likely to cause trouble.From the entry reop
- Technoliteracy is important in the classroom, where teachers are likely to be using computers and electronic whiteboards.From the entry technoliteracy
- He has dirt on a lot of powerful people; they are likely going to epstein him.From the entry epstein
Meaning of likely
- adjective Probable; having a greater-than-even chance of occurring.
- adjective Reasonably to be expected; apparently destined, probable.
- adjective Appropriate, suitable; believable; promising, having a good potential.
Questions about likely in a sentence
- How do you use likely in a sentence?
- Likely is used as an adjective, noun and adverb. For example: “Rain is likely later this afternoon.”
- What is a short sentence with likely?
- “a likely recipe for disaster.”
- What does likely mean?
- Likely means probable; having a greater-than-even chance of occurring.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: likely (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use likely in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/likely. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.