fewer likely

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "fewer likely" is not correct in English.
Did you mean "less likely"? You can use "less likely" when discussing the probability or chance of something occurring, typically in comparative contexts. Example: "With the new safety measures in place, accidents are less likely to happen."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

Mr. Obama's aides are contending that the pollsters are wrongly assuming that Mr. Obama's voters are less enthusiastic and that turnout among his key groups will be down, that is, he has fewer likely voters than he had four years ago.

The New York Times

The mission would keep its current mandate for up to 300 unarmed observers under this option, but significantly fewer likely would be needed to support the new focus.

Huffington Post

Of the nearly 80 million Americans with pre-diabetes, far fewer likely know they have it -- even while most medical professionals consider pre-diabetes the first stage of Type 2 diabetes.

Huffington Post

Does it produce fewer likely false-positives?

Biology Direct

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

Here are a few likely candidates.

The New York Times

"There are a few likely suspects we're expecting to see.

The Guardian - Books

Kirch could sell its rights, but there are few likely bidders apart from Premiere.

The Economist

But based on the previous 22 movies, we can identify a few likely constituents.

Independent

Her French is very good, but she still brushed up on her vocabulary to anticipate a few likely questions.

The Guardian

The West Virginia team began by hunting for remnants of Burbank's work, settling on a few likely descendants.

The New Yorker

Women make up about 70% of the Catholic churchgoing population but there are relatively few likely contenders.

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When expressing that something is not very probable, use "less likely" instead of "fewer likely". The latter is grammatically incorrect. For example, say "Accidents are less likely to happen with these safety measures".

Common error

Avoid using "fewer" when you mean "less" to describe probability. "Fewer" is used for countable items, while "less" is used for uncountable things or abstract concepts like likelihood. The correct phrase is "less likely".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "fewer likely" attempts to function as a comparative adjective phrase, aiming to express a reduced probability or possibility. However, Ludwig AI points out it's not grammatically correct. Examples show usage in contexts where a comparison of likelihood is intended.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "fewer likely" appears in some sources, it is not grammatically correct and should be avoided. As Ludwig AI indicates, the correct alternative is "less likely" when expressing reduced probability. The authoritative sources include news and media, with a leaning towards science. Given the grammatical issues, it's best to opt for clearer, grammatically sound alternatives such as "less likely" or "less probable" to maintain clarity and credibility in your writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

less probable

Replaces "fewer" with "less" and "likely" with "probable", improving formality and grammatical correctness.

less likely

Replaces "fewer" with "less", correcting the grammatical structure for expressing probability.

not as likely

Uses a different construction to express a lower probability, providing a more natural flow.

unlikely to a lesser extent

Offers a more formal and somewhat emphatic way of expressing reduced likelihood.

a reduced chance

Shifts the focus to the chance or probability being lower, rather than the number of possibilities.

diminished likelihood

Employs more formal vocabulary to express a decrease in the probability of something.

less of a possibility

Reframes the phrase to emphasize the reduced possibility of an event occurring.

a smaller probability

Focuses on the probability itself being smaller, offering a slightly different perspective.

a decreased likelihood

Replaces "fewer" with "decreased" offering formal way of expressing lower probability.

hardly probable

Uses stronger language to indicate a low probability, conveying a sense of doubt.

FAQs

What's the proper way to say something has a lower probability?

Instead of using the grammatically incorrect phrase "fewer likely", the correct and widely accepted way is to say "less likely". This applies to situations where you're discussing the probability or chance of something happening.

What are some alternatives to "fewer likely"?

Since "fewer likely" is not grammatically correct, use alternatives such as "less likely", "not as likely", or "less probable" to express a lower chance of something.

When should I use "fewer" versus "less"?

"Fewer" should be used when referring to countable nouns (e.g., "fewer cars", "fewer people"), while "less" should be used for uncountable nouns or abstract concepts (e.g., "less water", "less probability"). Therefore, "less likely" is the correct choice because likelihood is an abstract concept.

Is "fewer likely" ever correct in any context?

While "fewer" relates to countable items, and "likely" describes probability, combining them as "fewer likely" doesn't form a grammatically sound phrase in standard English. It's always preferable to use "less likely" or other similar alternatives.