What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Probably vs Can - What's the difference?

probably | can |

As an adverb probably

is in all likelihood.

As a noun can is

song.

As a verb can is

(lb).

probably

English

Alternative forms

* (colloquial)

Adverb

(en adverb)
  • In all likelihood.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
    • , chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= William E. Conner
    • , title= An Acoustic Arms Race , volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close

    Synonyms

    * (in all likelihood) likely, perhaps, maybe, possibly, presumably, most likely, doubtless, in all probability, perchance, as likely as not, as like as not

    Statistics

    * English modal adverbs English hedges 1000 English basic words

    can

    English

    (wikipedia can)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m) (first and third person singular of , Danish (m). More at canny, cunning.

    Verb

  • To know how to; to be able to.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Lee S. Langston, magazine=(American Scientist)
    • , title= The Adaptable Gas Turbine , passage=Turbines have been around for a long time—windmills and water wheels are early examples. The name comes from the Latin turbo'', meaning ''vortex , and thus the defining property of a turbine is that a fluid or gas turns the blades of a rotor, which is attached to a shaft that can perform useful work.}}
  • May; to be permitted or enabled to.
  • To be possible, usually with be .
  • * {{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers)
    • , chapter=5, title= A Cuckoo in the Nest , passage=The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.
  • To know.
  • * ca.1360-1387 , (William Langland), (Piers Plowman)
    • I can rimes of Robin Hood.
  • * ca.1360-1387 , (William Langland), (Piers Plowman)
    • I can no Latin, quod she.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
    • Let the priest in surplice white, / That defunctive music can .
    Usage notes
    * For missing forms, substitute inflected forms of be able to , as: ** I might be able to go. ** I was able to go yesterday. ** I have been able to go, since I was seven. ** I had been able to go before. ** I will be able to go tomorrow. * The word could also suffices in many tenses. "I would be able to go" is equivalent to "I could go", and "I was unable to go" can be rendered "I could not go". (Unless there is a clear indication otherwise, "could verb''" means "would be able to ''verb''", but "could not ''verb''" means "was/were unable to ''verb ".) * The present tense negative can not'' is often contracted to ''cannot'' or ''can't . * The use of can'' in asking permission sometimes is criticized as being impolite or incorrect by those who favour the more formal alternative ''"may I...?" . * Can'' is sometimes used rhetorically to issue a command, placing the command in the form of a request. For instance, ''"Can you hand me that pen?"'' as a polite substitution for ''"Hand me that pen." * Some US dialects that glottalize the final /t/ in can't'' ( even when stressed.
    Synonyms
    * be able to * may
    Antonyms
    * cannot * can’t
    See also
    *

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) canne, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium.
  • A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can ).
  • A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish.
  • (US, slang) toilet, bathroom.
  • (US, slang) buttocks.
  • (slang) jail or prison.
  • (slang) headphones.
  • (obsolete) A drinking cup.
    • (Shakespeare)
  • * Tennyson
    • Fill the cup and fill the can , / Have a rouse before the morn.
    Synonyms
    * (cylindrical metal container) tin
    Derived terms
    * beer can * can opener * carry the can * garbage can * kick at the can * kick the can / kick-the-can * kick the can down the road * trash can

    Verb

    (cann)
  • To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar.
    • They spent August canning fruit and vegetables.
  • to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).
    • He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail.
  • To shut up.
    • Can your gob.
  • (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee.
    • The boss canned him for speaking out.

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * * * 100 English basic words English auxiliary verbs English defective verbs English irregular verbs 1000 English basic words ----