likely candidates• Check and triple check the likely candidates.• Stirling continued to trawl among acquaintances and friends for likely candidates.• Thames, NorthWest and Severn Trent are the most likely candidates.• For several reasons the first and last of these are the most likely candidates and each has its proponents.• Film stars, such as Marilyn Monroe, are likely candidates, and the pressure of such a role can createunbearableconflict.• Theoretically, bats could do the same thing, but dolphins seem more likely candidates because they are in general more social.• Three likely candidates for study are the comets Enke, Tempel 2 and Honday-Mrkos-Pajdusakova.• The police kept up their enquiries and one or two likely candidates rose to the surface, but nothing was clearly actionable.
likely2 ●●○adverbadv
1PROBABLYprobably 大概,很可能
most/very likely
I’d very likely have done the same thing in your situation.
我要是处在你这种情况,也很有可能会那样做的。
(as) likely as not spoken (=very probably) 很可能
As likely as not, the meeting will take place in the village pub.
会议很有可能就在村子的酒馆里开。
2not likely!spoken especially British EnglishBrENO used to disagree strongly, or to say that something will not happen 才不呢!不可能!〔表示强烈反对或断言某事不会发生〕
‘He said you’d be giving them a lift.’ ‘Not likely!’
most/very likely• With the United States running a currentaccountdeficit of staggeringdimensions, the most likely candidate is not hard to spot.• Mixed in with most of the words in Englishand very likely every other language-is some taint of liking or disliking.• I'd most likely have done the same thing in your situation.• If you are having problems with your asthma, it most likelymeans that you are not on an appropriate treatment plan.• The party's most likelyrecourse is a face-savingcompromise with the Ministry of Finance that does not alter the statusquo.• So it's very likely she told you a few fibs.• It is most likely they are all linked.• This is most likely to happen where the wife has not worked outside the home.• In practice the most likelyvictim of insider dealing is the market maker with whom the insider trades.
VERBS | ADVERBVERBS➤appear, be, look, seem, sound顯得很可能;很可能;看來很可能;似乎很可能;聽起來很可能➤become變得很可能➤make sth使⋯變得很可能◇a development they believed would make nuclear war more likely他們認為會加大核戰爭可能性的一項發展事態➤consider sth, deem sth, think sth認為⋯很可能◇The doctors didn't think it likely that she would ever heal completely.醫生們認為她不大可能完全康復。ADVERB➤extremely, fairly, very, etc.極其/相當/非常可能◇This match was never likely to be a classic.這場比賽絕不可能成為經典。◇It seems very likely that he will be forced to resign.他似乎很可能會被迫辭職。➤entirely, especially, highly, overwhelmingly, particularly完全可能;極可能;絕對可能◇It is entirely likely that the company will make another offer.該公司完全可能再次報盤。◇It is highly likely that the factory will have to close.這家工廠很可能要關閉。➤increasingly越來越可能◇Juries became increasingly likely to acquit.陪審團越來越可能作出無罪裁定了。➤hardly幾乎不可能◇They're hardly likely to get home before ten.他們幾乎不可能在 10 點以前到家。➤reasonably相當有可能➤equally同樣可能➤disproportionately有超出正常比例的可能性◇Are black defendants disproportionately likely to be wrongfully convicted?黑人被告被誤判有罪的比例更高嗎?➤ever迄今最有可能◇the best deal they are ever likely to get迄今他們可能得到的最划算的一筆買賣
➡ See also the entry for prone to sth另见prone to sth条likely ♦︎ possible ♦︎ potential ♦︎ prospective ♦︎ probableThese words all describe things that are expected to exist, happen or be true.这些词均表示事情是可能的、预期会发生的。SYNONYM SCALE 词义标尺下图显示这些词所表达可能性的大小
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PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆to be likely / possible / probable that...◆a likely / possible / potential / prospective / probable site◆a likely / possible / potential / probable cause / effect / consequence / outcome◆a likely / possible / probable explanation◆the likely / possible / potential / probable cost◆a likely / possible / potential / prospective candidate◆a potential / prospective husband / wife / parent◆quite likely / possible / probable◆hardly likely / possible◆very / extremely / highly likely / probable■likelyexpected to exist, happen or be true可能存在(或发生)的;可能是真实的◆What is the most likely cause of the infection?这种传染病最有可能的病因是什么?◆Tickets are likely to be expensive.入场券往往很贵。◆It's more than likely that the thieves don't know how much it is worth.盗贼很可能不知道此物的价值。◆They might refuse to let us do it, but it's hardly likely.他们也许会不让我们这么干,但这种可能性很小。OPPunlikely ⇨ unlikely1 see also likelihood ⇨ possibility, most likely ⇨ probably■possiblethat might exist, happen or be true, but is not certain to可能存在(或发生)的;可能是真实的◆They spoke of her as a possible future president.他们说她将来可能会当选总统。◆With the possible exception of the Beatles, no other band has become so successful so quickly.可能除了披头士乐队外,还没有哪个乐队能如此迅速走红。◆It's just possible that I gave them the wrong directions.我很可能给他们指错了方向。◆'You might be wrong, of course!' 'It's possible, but I doubt it.'“当然,也许是你弄错了!”“有可能吧,但我觉得不一定。”OPPimpossible ⇨ impossible see also possibility ⇨ possibility■potential pəˈtenʃl [only before noun] expected to develop into sth or to be developed in the future潜在的;可能的◆First we need to identify actual and potential problems.首先,我们需要弄清实际问题和潜在问题。◆What are the potential benefits of these proposals?这些提案有什么潜在的益处?ⓘ Potential is used in several main ways: to talk about people who might buy a product or use a service * potential的几种主要用法如下:修饰人,表示有可能购买商品或需要服务◆a potential audience / buyer / client / consumer / customer潜在的听众/买主/客户/消费者/顾客to talk about things that might go wrong修饰事物,表示有可能出差错◆a potential complication / danger / disaster / drawback / embarrassment / hazard / pitfall / risk / threat潜在的并发症/危险/灾难/弊端/窘况/危害/隐患/风险/威胁and to talk about things that people might gain from.修饰物,表示有可能从中获益◆a potential advantage / benefit / improvement / saving潜在的优势/利益/改善/节约OPPactual ⇨ real see also potential ⇨ potentialnoun▸potentially
adverb
◆a potentially dangerous situation有潜在危险的局势■prospective prəˈspektɪv [only before noun] (ratherformal) expected to do or become sth有望的;可能的;预期的◆I had a phone call from a prospective client today.我今天接到一个有望成为我们客户的人打来的电话。ⓘ Prospective is mainly used to talk about people. * prospective主要用于修饰人◆a prospective buyer / client / customer / applicant / candidate / employee / employer / husband / wife / parent可能的买主/客户/顾客/申请人/候选人/雇员/雇主;准丈夫;准妻子;准父母 see also prospect ⇨ possibility, prospects ⇨ potentialNOTE辨析 Potential or prospective?Both these words can be used to talk about people who are expected to become buyers, employees, etc. However, prospective is used more to talk about a person who has already shown some interest in a product or service; potential is used more to talk about people in general who could be targeted by a company's advertising, for example.这两个词都可修饰人,表示有可能成为买主、雇员等。但是,prospective更多指这些人已经对产品或服务表现出兴趣;potential修饰消费者等时更多泛指可以被某公司设定为宣传对象等的人。■probable (ratherformal, especiallywritten) likely可能存在(或发生)的;可能是真实的◆The probable cause of the fire was an electrical fault.这次火灾的原因可能是电路故障。◆It is quite probable that they will call an election next spring.他们很可能明年春天组织一次选举。OPPimprobable ⇨ unlikely1 see also probability ⇨ possibility, probably ⇨ probablyNOTE辨析 Likely or probable?Likely can be used in a wider range of structures and registers than probable. * likely比probable可用于更广泛的结构和语域◆It is likely / probable that...有可能/很可能⋯◆sb / sth is likely to do sth某人/某事有可能做某事◆sb/sth is probable to do sthProbable is ten times more frequent in written English than in spoken English; likely is very frequent in both written and spoken English. * probable在书面语中的使用率比在口语中多十倍,likely在书面语和口语中都很常见。