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Maybe vs Perhaps - What's the difference?

maybe | perhaps | Synonyms |

Perhaps is a conjunction of maybe.

Perhaps is a synonym of maybe.

Perhaps is a coordinate term of maybe.



As adverbs the difference between maybe and perhaps

is that maybe is Modifies a verb, indicating a lack of certainty.perhaps is Modifies a verb, indicating a lack of certainty.

As an adjective maybe

is possible; uncertain.

As a noun maybe

is something that is possibly true.

maybe

English

(wikipedia maybe)

Alternative forms

* (l) (obsolete) * (l) (dialectal)

Adverb

(-)
  • (as a pro-sentence ) perhaps that is true (expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement)

    • Usage notes

    * Do not confuse maybe' with ' may be : "Maybe that's true", but "That may be true"

    Synonyms

    * (perhaps) mayhaps, peradventure, perhaps, possibly * (as a pro-sentence) could be, mayhaps, might be, perhaps, possibly, that’s possible

    Derived terms

    * and I don't mean maybe

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Possible; uncertain.
    • Then add those may-be years thou hast to live ? Dryden.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (informal) Something that is possibly true.
  • (informal) An answer that shows neither agreement nor disagreement.
    • The results of the poll were inconclusive. We got two yeses, three nos, and four maybes.
  • (informal) A future event that may or may not happen.
    • About your raise: it's a big maybe .

    Synonyms

    * perhaps

    Derived terms

    * definite maybe

    Anagrams

    * English hedges English modal adverbs

    perhaps

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l)

    Adverb

    (-)
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1 , passage=The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed.}}
  • * , chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
    • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].}}
  • (rare) By chance.
  • * "...will live until he dies perhaps , and then lie down in clover." --Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl (song)

    • Synonyms

    * belike * maybe * mayhap * peradventure * perchance

    Statistics

    * English hedges English modal adverbs