as in odds
a measure of how often an event will occur instead of another
the probability of flipping a coin and getting heads 50 times in a row is not good
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Recent Examples of probabilities
Earlier updates during the same period showed higher probabilities, with some forecasts seeing formation chances as high as 90 percent prior to the recent downgrades.
—
Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Sep. 2025
Shark bite risk for water users remains extremely low, but a combination of factors (including increasing shark abundance, shifts in predator and prey distributions, and rising human attendance at beaches) can increase encounter probabilities.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The extra copy is a problem, again spoiling the careful accounting of probabilities that quantum mechanics relies on.
—Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 27 Aug. 2025
Though Chicago’s wild-card probabilities remain high, the Brewers now hold a nine-game lead over the Cubs in the National League Central.
—Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
But how much of your personality—a mercurial phenomenon—is deterministic, a set of probabilities that are no more inscrutable to algorithms than the arrangement of pieces on a chessboard?
—Webb Wright, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2025
Achieving such vanishingly low probabilities may require expensive, heavy, and redundant systems, so regulators typically relax the safety expectations for small aircraft that carry fewer people.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2025
The best scenario for snow on the ground on Christmas Day would be in a region highlighted in white, where probabilities exceed 90%.
—Meredith Garofalo, Space.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Throughout the campaign, Kalshi and Polymarket frequently showed dramatically different probabilities for the same outcome.
—James Broughel, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Sep. 2025
Shark bite risk for water users remains extremely low, but a combination of factors (including increasing shark abundance, shifts in predator and prey distributions, and rising human attendance at beaches) can increase encounter probabilities.
—Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The extra copy is a problem, again spoiling the careful accounting of probabilities that quantum mechanics relies on.
—Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 27 Aug. 2025
Though Chicago’s wild-card probabilities remain high, the Brewers now hold a nine-game lead over the Cubs in the National League Central.
—Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
But how much of your personality—a mercurial phenomenon—is deterministic, a set of probabilities that are no more inscrutable to algorithms than the arrangement of pieces on a chessboard?
—Webb Wright, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2025
Achieving such vanishingly low probabilities may require expensive, heavy, and redundant systems, so regulators typically relax the safety expectations for small aircraft that carry fewer people.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2025
The best scenario for snow on the ground on Christmas Day would be in a region highlighted in white, where probabilities exceed 90%.
—Meredith Garofalo, Space.com, 20 Dec. 2024
Throughout the campaign, Kalshi and Polymarket frequently showed dramatically different probabilities for the same outcome.
—James Broughel, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for probabilities
Noun
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Investors peg the chances of a quarter-point rate cut this month at about 90% and the odds of a half-point cut at nearly 10%, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
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Former Brevard County School Board Member Jennifer Jenkins is launching a longshot Democratic bid for Marco Rubio’s former Senate seat — and hoping the polarizing prospect of bringing independents into the party’s primary will strengthen her chances.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Nolthenius and his colleagues had to rule out several other possibilities.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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If successful, the neutrino laser could open surprising possibilities.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Probabilities.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/probabilities. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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