• Likeliness

    Origin

    From Middle English liklinesse, lyklinesse, equivalent to likely + -ness.

    Full definition of likeliness

    Noun

    likeliness

    (usually uncountable; plural likelinesses)
    1. The condition or quality of being probable or likely to occur.
    2. Likelihood, probability or chance of occurrence; plausibility or believability.
      • 2004, Klaus-Martin Goeters, Aviation psychology: practice and research:The proposed HEA is based on the assumption that each specific error has a certain impact on a system/aircraft state whilst the crew's likeliness to commit this error is decreasing with an increasing number of safeguards against it.
      • 2006, David W. Embley, A. Olivé, Sudha Ram, Conceptual modeling:To determine the likeliness of an individual in a concept, a membership function is required.
    3. Suitability; agreeableness.
      • 2004, Peter Lipton, Inference to the best explanation:A new competitor may decrease the likeliness of an old hypothesis, but it will usually not change its loveliness.
    4. Likeness; similarity.
      • 1727, Robert South, Twelve SermonsNo surely, Reason is both the Gift and Image of God, and every Degree of its Improvement is a farther Degree of Likeliness to him.

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