El not for other people to know about
person as a prisoner, and threaten to kill or injure them unless they get what they want: The Ambassador and his wife have been tcken hostage by terrorists
private .■'praivjt/ [adj] someone's private feelings, discussions, letters etc concern themselves or their family and friends, and are not for other people to know about: You shouldn't be listening to a private conversation! I The book contains extracts from his diary and private letters.
PRIVATE
sb's private life (=things they do that are not connected with their work) The newspapers are full of stories about the private lives of famous people.
personal /'ря^пэГ [adj] someone's personal problems, relationships, letters etc are connected with their private iife, not with their work: There is a letter marked 'personal' for you. I I'd like to talk to you about a personal matter. I Are we allowed to make personal calls on the office phone?
secret si:kr0t [adj only before nounj someone's secret thoughts and feelings are ones that they never tell anyone else about: The diaries reveal all his secret hopes and fears. I a secret ambition secretly [ado] He told her not to worry. but secretly he still blamed her for the accident.
Qbe none of sb's business hi:
ПЛП ov (sb's) blZII^S ESPECIALLY SPOKEN Use
this when you think someone has no right to ask about something, because it is private: What I do at the weekend is none of your business/ I Why should I tell Dan who I'm seeing? It's none of his business.
El not controlled by the government
private praiv^t/ [adj usually before noun] private school/hospital/education/ pension etc a school, hospital etc that is not owned by the government and that you must pay money to use: Do you thin/c the teaching in private schools is better than in state schools? privately [adv\ privately educated (=at a private school) I Journalists flew in on a privately chartered plane.
commercial ;кэ'тз:гр1< [adj only before noun] commercial TV/radio/channel
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a television or radio company that is not paid for by the government, but gets its money from advertising: the most popular commercial radio station in London
PROBABLY
when it is likely that something will happen, or that something is true, but it is not definite
see also maybe, sure/not sure,
possible
probably
probably fprohoblill'pra:-/ [adu] when something will probably happen or is probably true: "Are you going to Lucy's party?" "Yes, probably." 1 We 're probably going to move to New York next year. I Archaeologists think the temple was probably built in the 3rd century AD. I He wrote dozens of books, but this is probably his best-known novel.
A
Be careful about the position of probably. It comes before an ordinary verb: She probably left the car at home. But it comes after an auxiliary or modal verb (likehave, will, can etc): It was probably an accident. I We will probably be late.
likely laiklij [adj] something that is likely will probably happen or is probably true: A peace settlement now seems likely. 1 The likeliest result is a win for the Democrats.
likely to do sth Men are more likely to
die from heart attacks than women. I .1
The price of books is likely to rise again this year.
it is likely that It is likely that the
murdered girl knew her killer.
very likely {^almost certain) There will
be a lot of cloud tomorrow, and rain is very likely.
likely - likelier - likeliest
probable /'probata!})'pre:- [ad/] formal likely to be true or likely to happen: This seems the most probable explanation. I Could you please inform us of the prob able cost of the repairs? it is probable that It is probable that they would have won the war if they had continued fighting.
probable cause The report states that the probable cause of death was a heart attack.
PROBABLY
highly probable (=when something will almost certainly happen) It is highly
probable that our team will win the game.
Probable is more formal than likely .
Ql suppose (also I should think
BRITISH I guess AMERICAN) ai sa'psoz, ai Jud
Hij]k, ai 'ges/ spoken say this when you think something is likely to be true or likely to happen: Shes a year or two older than you. I should think + (that) There was no reply when I phoned - I suppose she's still at school. I I should think you must be tired after your journey. 1 I guess Kathy will want to bring her boyfriend. I suppose so/I should think so/I guess so (=use this to say 'yes' to a question) 7s Bill coming too9" "Ves, I suppose so."
О it looks as i//it looks like и
loks з/ if, it 'loks laik spoken sav this when you think that something is very likely to happen, based on what you know about a situation: It's almost 11, so it looks as if Fred isn't coming tonight. I I can't see any buses - it looks like we'll have to take a taxi.
Ql wouldn't be surprised if ai
wodnt bi: sy praizd if spoken say this when you think that something which seems unlikely is in fact quite likely to happen: You know. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to get married.
how likely it is that something will happen
likelihood /'laiklihod [n U] how likely it is that something will happen + of What's the likelihood of the war ending this year? I As you get older, the likelihood of illness increases. + that There is little likelihood that the number of college places will go up this year.
chances t/ams.uirtjaen-/ [n plural] how likely it is that something you hope for will actually happen
chances of sth/of doing sth The new
treatment will increase her chances of suruiua/. I For these men the chances of getting another job are not very high.
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probability /.ргоЬ'ЫВД.рга:-/(n U] how likely it is that something will happen - use this especially about situations where you