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probable

adj
/ˈpɹɒbəbl̩/UK/ˈpɹɑbəbl̩/US/ˈprɔbəbl̩/

Etymology

From Middle English probable, from Old French probable, from Latin probābilis (“that may be proved, credible”), from probāre (“to test, examine”); see probe, probity, prove. Compare recent doublet provable.

  1. derived from probābilis — “that may be proved, credible”
  2. derived from probable
  3. inherited from probable

Definitions

  1. Likely or most likely to be true.

    • It's probable that it will rain tomorrow.
    • The probable source of the failure was the mass of feathers in the intake manifold.
    • A major accident and embezzlement of its funds seem to have been the only disasters it escaped; and as to the latter, the most probable reason is that it never had any quantity of funds worth embezzling.

  2. Likely to happen.

    • With all the support we have, success is looking probable.

  3. Supporting, or giving ground for, belief, but not demonstrating.

    • probable evidence
    • From an examination of the Teutonic words for "temple" Grimm has made it probable that amongst the Germans the oldest sanctuaries were natural woods.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. Capable of being proved.

    2. Something that is likely.

      • Four of the 32 251 Ku aircraft turned back, but the other 28 fought for 20 minutes against a reported 100 enemy aircraft, claiming 18 destroyed and five probables.

    3. A person who is likely to appear or do a certain thing.

The neighborhood

Derived

equiprobable, nonprobable, probabilify, probabilistics, probability, probable cause, probable error, probableness, probably, unprobable

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for probable. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA