It looks like it's going to rain.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Is there any difference in the meaning between 2 sentences?

  1. It’s going to rain.
  2. It looks like it’s going to rain.
2

The first sentence carries more certanity than the second.

3

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”
In this sentence, is ‘like’ a conjunction?

4

Yes.
oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries … ary/like_3
definition 2 ‘as if’