Which to use
“likelihood” and “livelihood” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,167
- “likelihood” frequency rank
- #16,743
- “livelihood” frequency rank
- 24910
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | likelihood | livelihood |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The probability of a specified outcome; the chance of something happening; probability; the state or degree of being probable. | A means of providing the necessities of life for oneself (for example, a job or income). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set likelihood and livelihood apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
likelihood and livelihood form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - k in “likelihood” becomes v in “livelihood” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
likelihood is recorded at frequency rank #8,167, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlaɪklihʊd/. livelihood is at rank #16,743, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlaɪvlihʊd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 24910, this pair ranks #398,375 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "likelihood" and "livelihood" be used interchangeably?
Remembering likelihood vs livelihood
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “likelihood” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable