perhaps

[per-haps]

See more synonyms for perhaps on Thesaurus.com

adverb

maybe; possibly: Perhaps the package will arrive today.

Origin of perhaps

1520–30; earlier perhappes, perhapis by haps. See per, hap¹, -s¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for perhaps

Contemporary Examples

Citizens, perhaps, need to feel like they can communicate something to science.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers
Michael Schulson
July 27, 2016
Perhaps on his own nowadays, Epstein is trying his best to webmaster over a dozen URLs.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking
M.L. Nestel
January 8, 2015
Democrats would be mistaken to underestimate Mike Huckabee, perhaps the strongest Republican presidential contender.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee
Sally Kohn
January 6, 2015
Perhaps, as Dwight Garner wrote, Steinberg just needed an idea for a book.
Was ‘The Book of Mormon’ a Great American Novel?
Stefan Beck
January 4, 2015
Perhaps it always seems that way at the time, but surely we face our fair share right now.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion
Gene Robinson
January 4, 2015

Historical Examples

Perhaps you already know that Anaxagoras fell asleep in Ionia.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
In the course of this process he fell into adventures, some of them, perhaps, unedifying.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Here, perhaps, may be found the symbolic clue to the strife's cause.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Perhaps my father might have put that in a bottle also at a later date.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
Would he annoy her, enrage her perhaps, or even worse, tire her?
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for perhaps

perhaps

adverb

1. possibly; maybe
2. (as sentence modifier)he'll arrive tomorrow, perhaps; perhaps you'll see him tomorrow

sentence substitute

it may happen, be so, etc; maybe

Word Origin

C16 perhappes, from per by + happes chance, hap 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for perhaps

adv.

1520s, formed from Middle English per, par "by, through" (see per-) + plural of hap "chance" (see happen), on model of peradventure, perchance, etc. which now have been superseded by this word. Perhappons "possibly, by chance" is recorded from late 15c.

perhaps

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for perhaps

Contemporary Examples

Citizens, perhaps, need to feel like they can communicate something to science.

Perhaps on his own nowadays, Epstein is trying his best to webmaster over a dozen URLs.

Democrats would be mistaken to underestimate Mike Huckabee, perhaps the strongest Republican presidential contender.

Perhaps, as Dwight Garner wrote, Steinberg just needed an idea for a book.

Perhaps it always seems that way at the time, but surely we face our fair share right now.

Historical Examples

Perhaps you already know that Anaxagoras fell asleep in Ionia.

In the course of this process he fell into adventures, some of them, perhaps, unedifying.

Here, perhaps, may be found the symbolic clue to the strife's cause.

Perhaps my father might have put that in a bottle also at a later date.

Would he annoy her, enrage her perhaps, or even worse, tire her?

perhaps

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for perhaps

adv.

Origin of perhaps