perhaps


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per·haps

 (pər-hăps′)
adv.
Maybe; possibly.

[From Middle English perhap : per, by (from Latin; see per) + hap, chance; see hap.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

perhaps

(pəˈhæps; informal præps)
adv
a. possibly; maybe
b. (as sentence modifier): he'll arrive tomorrow, perhaps; perhaps you'll see him tomorrow.
sentence substitute
it may happen, be so, etc; maybe
[C16 perhappes, from per by + happes chance, hap1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

per•haps

(pərˈhæps)

adv.
maybe; possibly.
[1520–30; See per, hap1, -s1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

maybe

perhaps

You use maybe or perhaps to indicate that something is possible, although you are not certain about it. There is no difference in meaning between these words.

Maybe he was wrong.
Perhaps Andrew is right after all.

Maybe is normally used only at the beginning of a clause.

Maybe he'll be prime minister one day.
I do think about having children, maybe when I'm 40.

Perhaps can be used in other positions in a clause.

If you live in the country, you can, perhaps, profit by buying and freezing local produce.
The Allies had better luck, perhaps, than they deserved.
It was perhaps Ellen's unconventional approach to life that made her such a great actress.

Be Careful!
Do not confuse maybe (/meɪbiː/) with may be (/meɪ biː/). May be is used in sentences such as 'He may be the best person for the job'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adv.1.perhaps - by chanceperhaps - by chance; "perhaps she will call tomorrow"; "we may possibly run into them at the concert"; "it may peradventure be thought that there never was such a time"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

perhaps

adverb maybe, possibly, it may be, it is possible (that), conceivably, as the case may be, perchance (archaic), feasibly, for all you know, happen (Northern English dialect) Perhaps you're right.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

perhaps

adverb
Possibly but not certainly:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
رُبَّمالَعَّلَّ
možnásnad
måske
ehk
ehkä
možda
talán
kannski, ef til vill
ことによると
아마
forsitanfortasse
iespējams, varbūt
možnosnáď
mordamogoče
kanske
บางที
có thể

perhaps

[pəˈhæps] ADVquizá(s), tal vez
perhaps he'll comequizá or tal vez venga, a lo mejor viene
"will you be seeing her later?" - "perhaps"-¿la vas a ver después? -a lo mejor or -tal vez or -puede que sí
perhaps notpuede que no
perhaps sopuede que sí, puede que así sea, quizá sea así
there were perhaps 50 people therehabría quizás unas 50 personas allí, puede que hubiese unas 50 personas allí
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

perhaps

[ˈpræps pərˈhæps] advpeut-être
a bit boring, perhaps → un peu ennuyeux, peut-être
Perhaps he's ill → Il est peut-être malade.
Perhaps God does not exist → Dieu existe peut-être., Peut-être que Dieu existe.
perhaps not → peut-être pas
perhaps so → peut-être que oui
perhaps he'll ... → peut-être qu'il ...
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

perhaps

advvielleicht; perhaps the greatest exponent of the artder möglicherweise bedeutendste Vertreter dieser Kunst; perhaps sodas kann or mag sein; perhaps notvielleicht (auch) nicht; will he make a complete recovery? — perhaps not, but we are doing our bestwird er sich ganz erholen? — das vielleicht nicht, aber wir tun unser Bestes; perhaps I might keep it for a day or two?könnte ich es vielleicht or eventuell für ein oder zwei Tage behalten?
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

perhaps

[pəˈhæps, præps] advforse
perhaps so/not → forse sì/no, può darsi di sì/di no
perhaps he'll come → magari or forse verrà, può darsi che venga
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

perhaps

(pəˈhaps) adverb
possibly. Perhaps it will rain.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

perhaps

لَعَّلَّ možná måske vielleicht ενδεχομένως quizá ehkä peut-être možda forse ことによると 아마 misschien muligens być może talvez возможно kanske บางที belki có thể 或许
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
Once she wondered if he would stop if she dared go to him and then she remembered how he had driven her out of the room and thought that perhaps the sight of her might make him worse.
Well, in short, actions that all, perhaps, commit; but which, as though purposely, occurred to me at the very time when I was most conscious that they ought not to be committed.
Perhaps she was in the very town I was leaving behind.
Containing what the reader may, perhaps, expect to find in it.
Because a thought struck me that perhaps I might prevent it - that if I did not, she and I might both lament it to the latest moment of our lives.
perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life."
They have a wife, children perhaps, some affection at any rate, or perhaps only some pet vice, that must be left behind for a year or more.
Perhaps if I did know I wouldn't dare put pen to paper.
I go no further than a conviction that the living are sometimes seen where they are not, but have been--where they have lived so long, perhaps so intensely, as to have left their impress on everything about them.
And it shows, perhaps, the strength of English patriotic spirit that that story never took hold of English minds.
Perhaps he remembered that the days had passed when it was necessary for him to keep so jealously his own counsel.
Perhaps the Love Magnet helped to win his Majesty's affections as well as the flattery, but however this may be, the white donkey looked kindly upon the speaker and said: