unlikelyadjective
uk/ʌnˈlaɪ.kli/us/ʌnˈlaɪ.kli/unlikely adjective (NOT PROBABLE)
B1 not probable or likely to happen:
[ + (that) ] It's pretty unlikely (that) they'll turn up now - it's nearly ten o'clock.
More examples
- The lack of evidence means that the case is unlikely to go to court.
- The government is unlikely to agree to the rebels' demands for independence.
- Such unpopular legislation is unlikely to be introduced before the next election.
- Let's face it, our team is most unlikely to win.
- This film is unlikely to attract large audiences unless it is given a big push in the media.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Uncertainty
- be neither fish nor fowl idiom
- circumstantial
- conflicted
- debatable
- definite maybe
- dispute
- joker
- joker in the pack idiom
- kind
- kind of idiom
- kinda
- knife edge
- razor
- shade
- tenuous
- there's no knowing idiom
- touch-and-go
- uncertain
- uncertainty
- vague
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Impossible and improbable
unlikely adjective (NOT EXPECTED)
[ only before noun ] not the same as you would usually expect:
He's an unlikely-looking doctor (= he is not what I expect a doctor to look like).
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Being and appearing different
- another
- be a far cry from sth idiom
- be another matter/thing idiom
- be another/a different kettle of fish idiom
- be far removed from sth idiom
- buck
- conflict
- contrast
- depart
- depart from sth
- deviate
- differ
- differentiate
- fish
- flow
- polymorphous
- rebrand
- rebranding
- remove
- set sth/sb apart
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Not expected or planned
unlikely adjective (PROBABLY NOT TRUE)
C2 [ only before noun ] probably not true:
When I asked what he was doing there, he came up with some unlikely explanation.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
True, real, false, and unreal
- actual
- actuality
- actually
- all that glitters is not gold idiom
- apocryphal
- fairy tale
- faithful
- false
- falsely
- fictional
- glitter
- gritty
- nominal
- practically
- pretend
- proper
- properly
- properly speaking idiom
- pukka
- well founded
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