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What is "likelihood"

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likelihood
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
likelihood
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
great
▪ The decision to keep it at 23 means fewer fixtures, less money and a greater likelihood of further clubs folding.
▪ The active, sensation-seeking child simply has a greater likelihood of such a pattern.
▪ So the extension of insurance provision has led to a greater likelihood of the reporting of many crimes.
▪ In any auction, the more who bid, the greater the likelihood of obtaining the best possible price.
▪ A quarter of lone fathers are over 50, reflecting their greater likelihood of being widowers.
▪ But the longer the war goes on, the greater is the likelihood of more such tragedies.
▪ Older people are particularly disadvantaged by this situation because of their greater likelihood of disability.
▪ However, this tactic has been abandoned due to improved police surveillance and the greater likelihood of being caught.
high
▪ And the longer you are prepared to leave it, the higher the likelihood of a better return.
▪ Impacts on Earth differ from those on Mars in that terrestrial impacts have a high likelihood of encountering an ocean.
▪ Is it sufficient that he perceives a suspicion of bias, or must he perceive the higher hurdle of likelihood?
▪ Following pruning, the prefix with the consequent highest likelihood is expanded, producing a new prefix.
increased
▪ The intention of the clause is to reflect the increased likelihood of damage to this equipment under the strain of racing.
▪ Patients with increased oesophageal alkalinisation require careful surveillance because of their increased likelihood of developing complications.
▪ Once an argument is in progression the child may feel that there is an increased likelihood of the parent's giving in.
▪ Suppose we think of conditions which lead to impaired reproduction or increased likelihood of mortality.
little
▪ Whether personal or commercial, business will be terminated where their is little or no likelihood of profit.
▪ Between 1953 and 1955, the United States could have effectively destroyed the Soviet Union with little likelihood of serious reprisal.
▪ There is little likelihood that cereals played a minor role in the economy.
▪ If so, there is little likelihood that it will ever be known to us.
▪ If she left early each morning and came home late at night there was very little likelihood of her meeting Leo.
▪ And at sea there was little likelihood that anyone would come to my rescue.
▪ The stalls were erected and dismantled every day so there was little likelihood of the arms being hidden beneath them.
▪ Both in 1986 and in 1997, some 84 % of workers told surveys they saw little likelihood of unemployment.
maximum
▪ Relative risks were estimated as matched odds ratios by conditional maximum likelihood methods.
real
▪ Given the burgeoning budget deficit, there is a very real likelihood of some form of tax increase in the Budget.
▪ Should you fail to appreciate this, and simply ignore them, there is a real likelihood that you could be bitten.
strong
▪ I believe that there is a strong likelihood that markets will seek to test that resolve.
▪ A genuine tar-get meant a very strong likelihood of a fight.
▪ A strong likelihood of being fitted up by corrupt cops or being casually blasted out of existence by some one's assault rifle?
▪ And there is a strong likelihood of losing ground financially rather than gaining it.
▪ There is no regular pay check, no regular employer, no guarantee of work, and the strong likelihood of rebuff.
■ NOUN
ratio
▪ The likelihood ratio test statistic shown above is a formalization of this.
▪ The Wald test is equivalent to the likelihood ratio test in large samples.
▪ The crucial difference with the likelihood ratio test is that the models that provide the's and's can be highly non-linear.
■ VERB
increase
▪ It should also help to get the management commitment behind the project and this will significantly increase the likelihood of its success.
▪ The result increases the likelihood that this year's election will be a victory for centrist politics as usual.
▪ Such a climate increases the likelihood that egalitarian feminist psychology will be incorporated into the traditional discipline.
▪ By having regular contact with her and then following her guidance, you will dramatically increase the likelihood of success.
▪ Drugs such as anticoagulants, antacids, barbiturates, alcohol and tobacco may increase the likelihood of the condition developing.
▪ Conversely, co-operative feeding and care increases the likelihood of rearing those young that are produced.
▪ Custodial sentences and remands prevent immediate offending but increase the likelihood of later and more serious reoffending.
▪ This increases the likelihood of a second fire.
reduce
▪ This sequence was selected to reduce the likelihood of standing stress waves in the body of the engine.
▪ Slow economic growth reduces the likelihood inflation will accelerate and erode the value of bonds' fixed payments.
▪ The region claims the situation should improve this year with new storm water tanks in Dunfermline reducing the likelihood of overflows.
▪ It is argued that this is a significant factor in reducing the likelihood of girls joining delinquent groups.
▪ To reduce the likelihood of this a large lexicon must be stored.
▪ Taping rehearsals also reduces the likelihood of arguments about who played what at the last rehearsal.
▪ This should increase control and reduce the likelihood of injury.
▪ Although this hip reduces the likelihood of resorption, early detection of problems is vital.
seem
▪ There seems every likelihood that faulty fuses caused the delay.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ As you get older, the likelihood of illness increases.
▪ Studies have shown that there is a greater likelihood of teenagers having car accidents.
▪ The likelihood of food riots this winter will increase as shortages spread.
▪ There is little likelihood that the number of college places will go up this year.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ If so, there is little likelihood that it will ever be known to us.
▪ Impacts on Earth differ from those on Mars in that terrestrial impacts have a high likelihood of encountering an ocean.
▪ It is argued that this is a significant factor in reducing the likelihood of girls joining delinquent groups.
▪ The likelihood of living alone is greatest among the most elderly, particularly for women.
▪ With globalisation still in its infancy, the likelihood of such crises recurring is high.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Likelihood

Likelihood \Like"li*hood\ (l[imac]k"l[i^]*h[oo^]d), n. [Likely + -hood.]

  1. Appearance; show; sign; expression. [Obs.]

    What of his heart perceive you in his face By any likelihood he showed to-day ?
    --Shak.

  2. Likeness; resemblance. [Obs.]

    There is no likelihood between pure light and black darkness, or between righteousness and reprobation.
    --Sir W. Raleigh.

  3. Appearance of truth or reality; probability; verisimilitude.
    --Tennyson.

  4. Statistical probability; probability of being true or of occurring in the future; as, the likelihood of being abducted by aliens is close to zero..

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
likelihood

late 14c., "resemblance, similarity," from likely + -hood. Meaning "probability" is from mid-15c.

Wiktionary
likelihood

n. 1 The probability of a specified outcome; the chance of something happening; probability; the state of being probable. 2 (context statistics English) The probability that some fixed outcome was generated by a random distribution with a specific parameter. 3 likeness, resemblance. 4 (context archaic English) appearance, show, sign, expression.

Related phrases:
WordNet
likelihood

n. the probability of a specified outcome [syn: likeliness, odds] [ant: unlikelihood, unlikelihood]

Related phrases:

Usage examples of "likelihood".

Finally, he points out the practical bearing of the subject--for example, the probability of calculus causing sudden suppression of urine in such cases--and also the danger of surgical interference, and suggests the possibility of diagnosing the condition by ascertaining the absence of the opening of one ureter in the bladder by means of the cystoscope, and also the likelihood of its occurring where any abnormality of the genital organs is found, especially if this be unilateral.

We can also demonstrate that she was twice aborted by Peter Randall and that in all likelihood he performed the third abortion.

This in turn raises the likelihood that cholesterol will clog arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis, which then increases risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack, and untimely death.

What brought a tremor to his old heart was the likelihood that support for Jesus would be overrun, just as defense of the Baptist had been.

Now your father thinks me not only a flown bondsman but a pirate, and he has in all likelihood placed a high reward upon my head.

Well, there seemed little to worry about on that score, for the likelihood of my ever escaping the blacks was extremely remote.

And when Fabel took himself off down to the stables and found his prize stallion also missing, it was hard to deny the likelihood that the boy had run away.

Prince Dekkeret to the royal throne reached the ears of Gopak Semivinvor, his first response was to consult his magus for a prognostication of the likelihood that the new Coronal would visit the Summer Palace.

I make a brief enquiry about the likelihood of food and learn that Gurd has sent out for an emergency cook.

Cape Hamada, and there was every likelihood that by steering west-south-west he would find them under his lee in the morning.

To reduce his strikeouts, he shortened his swing, and traded the possibility of hitting a home run for a greater likelihood of simply putting the ball in play.

The likelihood of an identikit picture appearing in the newspapers had to be balanced against the risk of drawing attention to myself by varying my routine.

We manifestly recognize that the existence of military mass destruction weapons and their supporting agencies and facilities increase the likelihood of their utilization to resolve differences or jurisdictional disputes, with consequent harm to human life, properties, and civilizations.

However, the likelihood of ever detecting a transmission coming from an unknown direction, with a mere 10-cycle bandwidth, at a frequency of 1,000 megacycles, would be virtually nil.

There are few mirrors in Morbus, and his new body was such a recent acquisition that there is little likelihood that he will recognize it.