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maybe

maybe

14 3.1
An answer that is not a clear yes or no
  • noun
  • /ˈmeɪbi/
translation icon : un quizá
  • There were a million maybes, all of them wrapped up with that person she might have been.
  • ifs and maybes
  • a lot of maybes
  • many maybes

Never accept a no or a maybe what a yes is still possible.

Examples

  • Never accept a no or a maybe what a yes is still possible.

  • - Have we cast yet? - Some maybes, but no.

  • I still have hope, so the maybes are still possible.

    Blog text (23)
  • They said one or two maybe, but the other fifty were yours.

  • Ninety percent of "maybes" are yeses.

  • Unfortunately, that's all we have: maybes, increasing exponentially every day.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • "That's a lot of maybes, Joe," Thorn said.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • All these maybes make me flustered and remove the enjoyment for me at least.

    Blog text (27)
  • The FB page currently has 235 members who are going, 100 maybes, and a further 2,969 who are invited.

    Blog text (23)
  • The teacher told the students that their project submissions were still in the maybe category.

Antonyms

certainty
  • Literature
202 3.4

A strong feeling that something is true or will happen

How Certain

certainty
  • Literature
202 3.4
probability
473 3.6
maybe
14 3.1
possibility
2.0
impossibility
37 5.3

Surface Forms

maybe singular
maybes plural

Etymology

Maybe as a noun comes from the same phrase may + be, meaning 'it may be so'. So a 'maybe' is an uncertain answer or a way to say someone has not decided.