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Approximately vs Possibly - What's the difference?

approximately | possibly |

As adverbs the difference between approximately and possibly

is that approximately is imprecise but close to in quantity or amount while possibly is (modifying a clause or predicate).

approximately

English

Alternative forms

* (abbreviation)

Adverb

(-)
  • Imprecise but close to in quantity or amount.
    • In every box of matches there are approximately 40 matchsticks.
    Per 100g of chocolate there are approximately 11.6g of saturated fat.
    ...approximately 60 beats per minute.

    Synonyms

    * around, near, nearly, almost, about, loosely, roughly, close to

    Antonyms

    * accurately, definitely, exactly, precisely

    Related terms

    * approximate

    See also

    * circa

    possibly

    English

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (modifying a clause or predicate)
    • Possibly , they will make gains in the midterm elections.
    It was possibly the costliest mistake in the organization's history.
    This rare and possibly unique specimen must be conserved.
  • (modifying a verb)
    • I'm much stronger than you, so you can't possibly win.
    I couldn't possibly be there on time.
    I couldn't possibly cheat on my wife.
    It seems unlikely, but, yes, they could possibly win even now.
    The police don't know him, and the information they have leads them to think he could possibly have murdered his wife.

    Related terms

    * by chance * mayhap * peradventure * perchance * incidentally * contingently

    Synonyms

    * conceivably, maybe, perhaps, potentially

    Antonyms

    * impossibly * inevitably * certainly