to admit of
/ɐdmˈɪt ʌv/
verbto allow or show the possibility of something
Examples
a priori
/ɐ pɹaɪˈɔːɹi/
adjectiveusing the previous knowledge, reasoning, or general facts to decide the likely result of something
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Examples
1. First, they decided a priori what was it that was a requirement for this job.
2. We are learning as we go because we don't have a priori solutions that work.
3. But the principle is that we don't make a priori decisions about what is more important.
4. And it's not based on an a priori notion.
5. Now, we probably think a priori that's unlikely.
as likely as not
/æz lˈaɪkli æz nˈɑːt/
phrasevery probably; most possibly
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Examples
1. If it's an outlying decision, if you're talking about situations where the sample size is small and the variables are many and the possibilities of chance and luck are considerable, then as likely as not your predictions will let you down.
to be in with a chance of sth
/biː ɪn wɪð ɐ tʃˈæns ʌv ˌɛstˌiːˈeɪtʃ/
phraseto be likely for someone to succeed in doing something
Examples
could
/ˈkʊd/
verbused to show the possibility of something happening or being the case
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Examples
1. The long list could go on.
2. Surveillance and privacy issues could arise if the central bank is able to monitor every transaction.
3. That business over time potentially could decline.
4. She could rent out a spare room to offset the higher costs!
5. There could be many definitions of dogma.
easily
/ˈizəɫi/
adverbvery likely to happen or be the case
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Examples
1. A uniform is one way whereby the workers can be easily identified by others.
2. Art thieves believe they can easily steal something from a small museum without being seen.
3. I can easily get in through her attic window.
4. Lift the chest easily
5. The non-human scanning software can easily misread jokes or sarcasm.
expected
/ɪkˈspɛktəd/, /ɪkˈspɛktɪd/
adjectiveconsidered to be probable or possible to happen
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Examples
1. Those events in Tokyo have an expected cost of $118 million.
2. Find the expected number of local maxima.
3. What will be my payoff, my expected payoff?
4. So my expected payoff is what?
5. It maximizes my expected payoff.
I dare say
/aɪ dˈɛɹ sˈeɪ/
phraseused to express the probability of something
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Examples
1. Do I dare say, thick?
2. And I dare say, there are a lot of girls out there that would love to be hooked up to a footballer or two.
3. I dare say we had become poets.
4. And tell me a little bit about the fans in this regard who I dare say, you know, reflect the changing demographics of Atlanta.
5. Who, I dare say, is living the upside-down life?
to lend color to something
/lˈɛnd kˈʌlɚ tə sˈʌmθɪŋ/
phraseto add information or details to something in order to make it seem more credible or probable
Examples
like as not
/lˈaɪk æz nˈɑːt/
phraseused to point out the probability of something
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Examples
1. It certainly got me thinking about what the near future could be like as not everything in the series is so far fetched.
2. And they're organic cotton, as well, so they're not as, it's like as not as bleached.
likely
/ˈɫaɪkɫi/
adjectivehaving a possibility of happening or being the case
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Examples
1. Modern media are likely to make things even stranger.
2. And over the course of a century, our Galaxy is likely to have dozens of new studs of light.
3. The worm likely plays a vital role in the ocean ecosystems.
4. The actual cushion of her seat itself also likely played a small role.
5. The conditions likely increased the rate of transmission.
to look
/ˈɫʊk/
verbto be likely to occur or to appear to be the case
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Examples
1. The police can also look at pictures made by security cameras.
2. The old woman looks in her bag.
3. Her look calmed me.
4. You can look at this map to see what standards for financial literacy your state currently mandates.
5. But if delta x got a little bit smaller, then the secant line would look like that.
might
/ˈmaɪt/
verbused to express a possibility
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Examples
1. CSIs might even vacuum the entire area to collect tiny samples.
2. Depending on the circumstances, they might wait several years.
3. This child might be a savant, this child might be a prodigy.
4. This child might be a savant, this child might be a prodigy.
5. Third party might have a better candidate.
no doubt
/nˈoʊ dˈaʊt/
adverbused to say that something is likely to happen or is true
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Examples
1. No doubt God will punish me for this.
2. No doubt plastics are useful.
3. Seabiscuit’s father had great speed, no doubt owing to his own pedigree.
4. The boy who takes this note could no doubt forward your telegram.
5. No doubt that it's going to happen, in my mind.
you will be (so / ) lucky
/juː wɪl biː sˌoʊ lˈʌki/
sentenceused to emphasize the fact that someone's expectations or wishes are very unlikely to be fulfilled
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Examples
1. Servants would be lucky to get away with a lost finger or two.
2. Catch a zebra and his family won't follow, try to ride him and you'll be lucky to keep your fingers.
3. So you would be lucky if you any of the energy you have put in at the start actually made it to the tip.
4. You would be lucky if the tip moved at all.
5. But in any position that I would be lucky enough to be enabled to do, I would, of course, work on human trafficking.
on spec
/ˌɑːn spˈɛk/
phrasewithout any specific plans or assurance of success
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Examples
1. That's how the message gets absorbed, not on spec in some 30-second rushed thing.
2. So I work on spec.
3. Yeah it's on spec.
4. Øvredal told Comingsoon.net: "This script was written on spec by James Vanderbilt when he did not even have the rights to it, he just wrote it out of pure love for the book and in the end, suddenly the rights were open and he was able to go to King with his script and say, 'Can we do this?'"
5. Also I was, do a lot of what I call work on spec.
ought to
/ˈɔːt tuː/
verbused to talk about what one expects or likes to happen
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Examples
1. Every employer in the state ought to have programs on diversity and inclusion.
2. Now, just that title ought to raise a number of questions.
3. Every young man ought to read Emerson's essay on 'Self Reliance'.
4. Liberal education ought to cultivate curiosity and skepticism.
5. This movie ought to lift your spirits.
outlook
/ˈaʊtˌɫʊk/
nounsomeone or something's probable future; what is likely to occur
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Examples
1. They have different outlooks.
2. My outlook is bright.
3. Outlook for Ray is guarded.
4. Outlook for Twinkie is pretty good.
5. Positive outlook Vergara has zero time for haters.
paradoxical
/ˌpɛɹəˈdɑksɪkəɫ/
adjective(of a statement) containing two opposing facts or ideas that make it seem absurd
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Examples
1. REM sleep is kinda paradoxical.
2. This sorrow has a paradoxical source.
3. So it's kind of paradoxical
4. Our relation to fiction in this regard is paradoxical.
5. He;s a paradoxical person because he was so precise and powerful and analytically formidable as a lawyer.
perhaps
/pɝˈhæps/
adverbused to express possibility or to show one's uncertainty about something
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Examples
1. Perhaps Morrison’s most famous exploration of the difficulty of love takes place in "Beloved."
2. Perhaps approach the panelists afterward.
3. Perhaps the wind will bring fresh news of its prey.
4. Perhaps her experiences in an abusive home gave Peanut a sixth sense for other creatures in need.
5. Perhaps polish up your resume.
possibility
/ˌpɑsəˈbɪɫəˌti/
nounpossibility refers to the state or condition of being able to happen or exist, or a potential likelihood of something happening or being true
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Examples
1. My mother believed in dreams and possibilities.
2. Jasper is possibility.
3. It unlocks possibilities.
4. Another possibility is there's problems with inhibition.
5. Possibility is endless.
possible
/ˈpɑsəbəɫ/
adjectiveable to exist, happen, or be done
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Examples
1. Ashley identifies what frustrates customers on board and comes up with possible solutions.
2. Thanks to modern science a second chance is possible.
3. All things are possible.
4. Another world is possible.
5. That world is possible.
presumably
/pɹəˈzuməbɫi/, /pɹiˈzuməbɫi/, /pɹɪˈzuməbɫi/
adverbused to say that the thing mentioned is based on an assumption
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Examples
1. Presumably you need the star as a source of energy for your life.
2. Presumably the xanthan gum is a polymer.
3. Presumably, the guy had a gun.
4. Presumably the complaints were from the Lamborghini customers.
5. Presumably, modern humans emerged somewhere in Africa.
presumption
/pɹiˈzəmpʃən/, /pɹɪˈzəmpʃən/
nouna belief that something is true without any proof
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Examples
1. The Drone Campaign eliminates presumption of innocence.
2. For us, our presumptions make real sense.
3. Well, actually, every liberal democracy has a presumption of innocence.
4. Presumption is defined a lot of different ways.
5. So the presumption is for entitlement to your children.
probabilistic
/ˌpɹɑbəbɪˈɫɪstək/
adjectivebeing solely based on an idea or theory one cannot be certain about
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Examples
1. Everything is probabilistic.
2. They are probabilistic in their nature.
3. We can make probabilistic judgments.
4. The fundamental laws of physics, according to the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, are probabilistic.
5. It's probabilistic in a sense.
probability
/ˌpɹɑbəˈbɪɫəˌti/
nounhow possible or likely something is to happen
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Examples
1. Which light-absorbing molecule in which cone a particular photon hits, comes down to probability.
2. These numbers are probabilities.
3. Using probability.
4. That involves probability.
5. Probability, build a random animal dropper.
probable
/ˈpɹɑbəbəɫ/
adjectivewith a high possibility to happen or be true but not certain
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Examples
1. Scientists have already found probable candidates, too.
2. It's probable.
3. Therefore, the first case is more probable.
4. A similar global annihilation is very probable on a Super Earth.
5. Prince Charles' presence at his mother's 95th birthday get-together is probable.
probably
/ˈpɹɑbəˌbɫi/, /ˈpɹɑbɫi/
adverbused for saying that something is likely to happen or be the case
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Examples
1. No evidence exists of an early device to enhance hearing, but it probably did exist.
2. If the carpet isn’t too dirty, the safer play is probably to just vacuum.
3. I think I've reached the zenith of my career, probably.
4. You may not put much thought into the music playing over the loudspeaker, but the retailer probably has.
5. My face probably matches my hair right now!
safe bet
/sˈeɪf bˈɛt/
nouna thing that is extremely likely to be true or happen
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Examples
1. What's my safest bet?
2. It's a safe bet.
3. For me, chicken stock is just always a safe bet.
4. The blue-powdered statue is your safest bet.
5. That's a safe bet. -
set
/ˈsɛt/
adjectiveprepared for something or to do something; likely to do something
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Examples
1. Many years ago, people used the sun to set their clocks.
2. You can do the workouts with any brand of equipment, and many of the workouts require just a set of dumbbells or no equipment at all.
3. Set realistic goals.
4. Set the mood.
5. Some nice historical video footage sets the stage for each individual challenge.
to stand a chance
/stˈænd ɐ tʃˈæns/
phraseto have a likelihood of success or achieving a desired outcome
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Examples
1. So, does AEW even stand a chance?
2. And Mercedes says it plans to make AMG versions of at least some of its electric vehicle lineup, which stand a chance of being more profitable.
3. Changes have to be made to education here in America if we’re to stand a chance of improving things.
4. While the squid fight back ferociously, they probably don't stand a chance, but they do leave permanent marks on their killer's skin.
5. Wasps are fierce and may seem invulnerable, but if a swarm makes its way to their colonies, they don't even stand a chance.
suspected
/səˈspɛktɪd/
adjective(particularly of something bad) assumed to have happened or be the case without having any proof
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Examples
1. They're SUSPECTED of spying ON emails and communications of top government officials and there's fear
2. And a development in another SUSPECTED police involved death.
3. Suspected infected people with their families.
4. On december 28 the Obama Administration took a first step by EJECTING 35 SUSPECTED intelligence operatives and imposing other sanctions On Russia.
5. But in September 2020, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former senior adviser and self-described friend of Melania's, confirmed to BBC what everyone more or less suspected.
ten to one
/tˈɛn tə wˌʌn/
phraseextremely likely
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Examples
1. but, um in all actually we're just reaching out for help like at a ten to one basis to men.
2. A hydrogen-rich one ten to one hundred times thicker than ours would do the trick.
3. Couple this with the lack of big name titles like Sonic and Sony’s new console outsold the Saturn by a massive ten to one ratio.
4. We will give ten to one odds that schools will see test scores rise as a result next week.
5. Ten to one odds that someone's getting canceled.
well
/ˈwɛɫ/
adverbused to indicate that there is a high chance for something to happen or be true
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Examples
1. If every infected person quickly took malaria medicine, most would be well in a few days.
2. The brain not only gives signals to the missing arm, it receives them as well.
3. After spending more time with Howard, I developed a better understanding of his belief that everyone deserves a zealous defense.
4. Well, in a crass political sense, Judy, it's bad for the president.
5. A fetid hyena den is even better.
will
/ˈwɪɫ/, /wəɫ/
verbused to express what one deems true or probable
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Examples
1. The company's marketing plan will be aimed at the parents, specifically the mothers.
2. The ads will certainly emphasize things like good taste, easy preparation, and high nutrition.
3. Companies will not hire someone with insufficient training or without a degree.
4. I'll be your neighbour, your nurse, your housekeeper, your companion.
5. I’ll spare you the work.
odds
/ˈɑdz/
nounthe probabilities or chances of something actually taking place
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Examples
1. The odds are against you.
2. Narrator: TONY CAN EVEN CALCULATE THE ODDS THAT OUR SOLAR SYSTEM WILL CRASH INTO ONE OF ANDROMEDA'S BILLIONS OF STARS DURING THE COLLISION.
3. Odds are they will continue to no comment.
4. The link to the video the Odds of Dying of Covid part one and part two is down below in the description.
5. Bearden: YOU TELL ME WHAT THE ODDS MIGHT BE, IT'S A LIGHTNING STRIKE.