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probably

UK/ˈpɹɒb.ə.bli/US/ˈpɹɑ.bə.bli/
adverbA1One of the most common words in English · #164 of 15,258leans spoken

Probably means very likely, though not certain. Probably not, probably tomorrow, that is probably right.

It sits above possibly and perhaps and below certainly, and it is the workhorse hedge of English — probably is how most people state what they actually believe. It goes before the main verb and after an auxiliary: he probably knows, he will probably know. Probably not is a soft no. Note probable and probability; and that most probably is a slightly stronger form used in careful writing.

Definitions of probably

  1. 1adverbprobablyVery likely, though not certain.A1

    “Take an umbrella; it'll probably rain later.”

    synonyms: likely, in all likelihood

probably is a degree of likelihood.

Where it comes from

  1. Middle English

    probably

  2. English, today

    probably

From Middle English probably, probabily, equivalent to probable + ly.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

probably in the wild

  • In Greek mythology, Liriope or Leiriope is a Boeotian naiad of Thespiae, who was probably the daughter of one of the Boeotian or Phocian river gods.

    Liriope (mythology)

  • The kantharos is a cup used to hold wine, probably both for drinking and for ritual use in libations and offerings.

    Kantharos

  • Nicotera, the name of which is already found in the Antonine Itinerary, probably arose after the decline of Mesma.

    Medma

  • West Elysium Basin probably contained a lake that was 500 km across and received water from Athabasca Vallis.

    Lethe Vallis

  • The German Sign Language family is a language family of sign languages, including German Sign Language, Polish Sign Language and probably Israeli Sign Language.

    German Sign Language family

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.