unlike
preposition /ˌʌnˈlaɪk/
/ˌʌnˈlaɪk/
- different from a particular person or thing
- Music is quite unlike any other art form.
- The sound was not unlike that of birds singing.
- used to contrast somebody/something with another person or thing
- Unlike most systems, this one is very easy to install.
Language Bank contrastcontrastHighlighting differences- This survey highlights a number of differences in the way that teenage boys and girls in the UK spend their free time.
- One of the main differences between the girls and the boys who took part in the research was the way in which they use the internet.
- Unlike the girls, who use the internet mainly to keep in touch with friends, the boys questioned in this survey tend to use the internet for playing computer games.
- The girls differ from the boys in that they tend to spend more time keeping in touch with friends on the phone or on social networking websites.
- Compared to the boys, the girls spend much more time chatting to friends on the phone.
- On average the girls spend four hours a week chatting to friends on the phone. In contrast, very few of the boys spend more than five minutes a day talking to their friends in this way.
- The boys prefer competitive sports and computer games, whereas/while the girls seem to enjoy more cooperative activities, such as shopping with friends.
- When the girls go shopping, they mainly buy clothes and cosmetics. The boys, on the other hand, tend to purchase computer games or gadgets.
- not typical of somebody/something
- It's very unlike him to be so late.
Word OriginMiddle English: perhaps originally an alteration of Old Norse úlíkr; compare with Old English ungelīc ‘not of the same kind, not comparable’.