| 词汇 | thesaurus_articles_chance-of-something-happening |
| 释义 | the chance of something happeningThese words are used to talk about how likely something is to happen. One of the most common words to describe this is chance. Chance is used in phrases like a slight chance or a good chance to describe the level of how likely it is that something will or won't happen. When chance is used in the plural, it is usually not modified by an adjective. There's a good chance he'll resign. What are the chances she'll show up late? Any chance I can borrow a pen? He didn't stand a chance of winning. Probability is, like chance, used to describe the level of how likely it is that something will happen. Probability comes from mathematics, so it is more technical and more formal than chance. It is used more to describe things that might happen instead of things that might not happen. What's the probability of winning? There's a high probability of us having moved house by then. The opposite of probability is improbability. Improbability, like probability, can be used in more technical settings, and it is slightly more formal than probability. What you're suggesting is a mathematical improbability. I had to laugh at the improbability of our situation. You can also talk about the odds of something happening. Odds is sometimes used to express the chance that something will happen using numbers. Odds is always used in the plural. What are the odds that she takes him back? The odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 700,000 (= one out of every 700,000 people has the chance of being struck by lightning). In contexts where numbers are not important, you can also talk about the likelihood of something happening. Likelihood is used to talk in very general terms about whether there is a chance that something will happen or not. The treaty increases the likelihood that the cease-fire will hold. There's every likelihood that he'll graduate university on time. There's very little likelihood that the publisher will publish your book. If there is a possibility of something happening, it may happen or it may not. Possibility has the broadest meaning of all these words. There's a distinct possibility I won't be able to make it to the pub tonight. There's a possibility that my flight will be delayed. The opposite of possibility is impossibility. Impossibility is much less common than possibility. What you're requesting is an impossibility - it can't be done. They finally dealt with the impossibility of being married yet living on separate continents. Prospect is used to describe the chance that something good will happen in the future, or the idea that something good might happen. When used in the plural, prospects refers specifically to the chance that someone succeeds in doing something positive. Both prospect and prospects are slightly more formal than chance. Is there any prospect of the weather improving? The prospect that she will write another novel fills me with joy. His prospects for getting signed to a team are good. Related articlesa chance to do something |
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