Meanings
nounLikert scale (plural Likert scales)
plural Likert scales
- A symmetric psychometric scale used in questionnaires, allowing respondents to specify their level of agreement or disagreement.
In a quantitative version of such a task, participants might be asked to rate the sentences on a scale from 1 to 5 or from 1 to 7 (a “Likert” scale, pronounced “Lick-ert”), or on a binary scale (good vs. bad), or even on an unbounded scale.
[2025, Edward A. F. Gibson, “Preliminaries: Components of Language Structure” (chapter 2), in Syntax: A Cognitive Approach, MIT Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 21
Origin
Named after its inventor, psychologist Rensis Likert.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech Likertova škála
- Likertova škálaTranslations
German Likert-Skala, Likertskala
- Likert-SkalaTranslations
- LikertskalaTranslations
Hungarian Likert-skála
- Likert-skálaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA
Likert scale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Likert%20scale
MLA
“Likert scale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Likert%20scale. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Likert scale,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Likert%20scale.
Source: Likert scale on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.