perhaps

[ per-haps ]
/ pərˈhæps /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR perhaps ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

maybe; possibly: Perhaps the package will arrive today.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of perhaps

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

Words nearby perhaps

pergola, pergolesi, pergolide mesylate, pergonal, perh., perhaps, perhydrogenate, perhydrogenize, peri, peri-, peri-infarction block
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to perhaps

maybe, perchance, reasonably, conceivably, feasibly, imaginably

Example sentences from the Web for perhaps

British Dictionary definitions for perhaps

perhaps
/ (pəˈhæps, informal præps) /

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 for perhaps

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