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Until 1869, when they were banned, debtors' prisons were the great incinerators of British reputations. Those who were unable to pay their bills were jailed until their creditors were paid - an unlikely event, given that the prisoner was unable to work.
Tina Brown

Meaning of "unlikely" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF UNLIKELY

unlikely  [ʌnˈlaɪklɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF UNLIKELY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Unlikely is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES UNLIKELY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of unlikely in the English dictionary

The definition of unlikely in the dictionary is not likely; improbable.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH UNLIKELY


alphabetically
ˌælfəˈbɛtɪklɪ
analytically
ˌænəˈlɪtɪklɪ
automatically
ˌɔːtəˈmætɪklɪ
basically
ˈbeɪsɪklɪ
biologically
ˌbaɪəˈlɒdʒɪklɪ
chronically
ˈkrɒnɪklɪ
classically
ˈklæsɪklɪ
clinically
ˈklɪnɪklɪ
critically
ˈkrɪtɪklɪ
cynically
ˈsɪnɪklɪ
dicycly
daɪˈsaɪklɪ
ecologically
ˌiːkəˈlɒdʒɪklɪ
electrically
ɪˈlɛktrɪklɪ
enthusiastically
ɪnˌθjuːzɪˈæstɪklɪ
ethically
ˈeθɪklɪ
likely
ˈlaɪklɪ
manlikely
ˈmænˌlaɪklɪ
prickly
ˈprɪklɪ
publicly
ˈpʌblɪklɪ
quickly
ˈkwɪklɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE UNLIKELY

unlifelike
unlighted
unlightened
unlightsome
unlikable
unlike
unlikeable
unliked
unlikelihood
unlikeliness
unlikeness
unlimber
unlime
unlimited
unlimited liability
unlimitedly
unlimitedness
unline
unlineal
unlined

WORDS THAT END LIKE UNLIKELY

absolutely
approximately
barely
closely
completely
definitely
effectively
entirely
extremely
immediately
lonely
lovely
privately
relatively
respectively
safely
separately
solely
surely
unfortunately

Synonyms and antonyms of unlikely in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «UNLIKELY»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «unlikely» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of unlikely

Translation of «unlikely» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF UNLIKELY

Find out the translation of unlikely to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of unlikely from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «unlikely» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

不太可能的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

improbable
570 millions of speakers

English

unlikely
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

संभावना नहीं
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

غَيْرُ مُحْتَمَل
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

маловероятный
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

improvável
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

অসম্ভাব্য
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

improbable
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Tidak mungkin
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

unwahrscheinlich
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ありそうもない
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

있을 법하지 않은
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Ora mungkin
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

không chắc sẽ xảy ra
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

சாத்தியம்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

संभव नाही
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

olası olmayan
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

improbabile
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

nieprawdopodobny
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

малоймовірний
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

improbabil
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

απίθανος
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

onwaarskynlik
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

osannolik
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

usannsynlig
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of unlikely

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «UNLIKELY»

The term «unlikely» is very widely used and occupies the 8.654 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
96
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «unlikely» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of unlikely
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «unlikely».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «UNLIKELY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «unlikely» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «unlikely» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about unlikely

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «UNLIKELY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word unlikely.
1
Zygmunt Bauman
We already have - thanks to technology, development, skills, the efficiency of our work - enough resources to satisfy all human needs. But we don't have enough resources, and we are unlikely ever to have, to satisfy human greed.
2
Antony Beevor
Teaching the history of the British Empire links in with that of the world: for better and for worse, the Empire made us what we are, forming our national identity. A country that does not understand its own history is unlikely to respect that of others.
3
Jo Beverley
When a gently born spinster has little money, her choices are few. She might receive an offer of marriage, but it's unlikely to be from a wealthy man, so she'll have a hard life trying to make ends meet for her growing family.
4
Adam Braun
Global poverty is a complex web of interlinked problems. There is no one 'silver bullet' that will solve global inequality. Multiple contributing factors must be tackled in parallel. Yes, education alone is unlikely to lead to employment without economic reform to address the demand side in much of the developing world.
5
John Bright
I hope this view of the question may be a mistaken one, because it does not seem to me very unlikely that the suffrage will be granted to women.
6
Tina Brown
Until 1869, when they were banned, debtors' prisons were the great incinerators of British reputations. Those who were unable to pay their bills were jailed until their creditors were paid - an unlikely event, given that the prisoner was unable to work.
7
John Cameron
Nuclear physics is interesting but it is unlikely to help society.
8
Bill Condon
A scientist is an unlikely character to put at the center of a movie.
9
Tim DeKay
'White Collar' is a show about the unlikely pairing of an FBI agent and an ex-con solving smart, glamorous, interesting and provocative crimes in a sometimes very funny way.
10
Mary Douglas
It's unlikely that the organized religions will get more sectarian... or is it? I am not at all sure.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «UNLIKELY»

Discover the use of unlikely in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to unlikely and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Unlikely: A True Love Story
The cartoonist uses a full-length graphic novel format to tell the bittersweet story of how he lost his virginity at age 24 and presents vignettes from his relationship with Allisyn that take place before and after the event.
Jeffrey Brown, 2003
2
Unlikely Friendships: 50 Remarkable Stories from the Animal ...
These are the most amazing friendships between species, collected from around the world and documented in a selection of full-color candid photographs.
Jennifer Holland, 2011
3
The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry
When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other.
Rachel Joyce, 2012
4
The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert
What follows is a story of what she describes as a "train wreck" at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could. - Publisher.
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, 2012
5
Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero
In this moving, inspirational memoir, the 26-year-old widowed mother of a six-year-old girl shares for the first time the little-known details of her traumatic ordeal, and expands on how her faith and the bestselling book The Purpose ...
Ashley Smith, 2010
6
Unlikely Beginnings: A Soldier's Life
This Military Memoir Spans Across Some Fascinating And Critical Times Of The Last Century.
Aboobaker Osman Mitha, 2003
7
Unlikely Stories: Causality and the Nature of Modern Narrative
This study brings together a number of related critical issues, including the causal laws that attempt to govern fictional worlds, the reader's implication in the causal dilemmas that confront major characters, and the philosophical and ...
Brian Richardson, 1997
8
She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall
The mother of one of the high school students killed in the Littleton shootings describes her daughter's religious faith.
Misty Bernall, 2000
9
Unlikely Rebels: The Gifford Girls and the Fight for Irish ...
Tells the stories of the Gifford sisters, who became heavily involved in the Irish Republican movemant.
Anne Clare, 2011
10
Most Unlikely to Succeed - The Trials, Travels, and Ultimate ...
Set in rural America, this gripping memoir reveals the heart and mind of a boy struggling through the 1970s and 80s school system.
Nelson Lauver, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «UNLIKELY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term unlikely is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Mr. Fong's Is Chinatown's Unlikely New 'It' Bar
In the hottest days of summer, the heat sends funk rising from the neighborhood fish markets, and directly overhead, in plain view, the subways rattle over the ... «New York Times, Jul 15»
2
Tiny Haverford College an Unlikely Pipeline to Major League …
With a restful duck pond at the main entrance and an arboretum of 1,400 labeled trees and shrubs dwarfing the few ball fields on its campus, Haverford College ... «New York Times, Jul 15»
3
Spy's Release Is Unlikely to Assuage Israel on Iran Nuclear Deal
JERUSALEM — The two issues with perhaps the broadest consensus and resonance in Israeli politics are opposition to the Iran nuclear deal and support for the ... «New York Times, Jul 15»
4
How an Unlikely Hollywood Juggernaut Came to Rule Netflix
Meet Hollywood's unlikely new juggernaut. Brent Humphreys. The streets of downtown Austin are stirring blearily to life as the turducken street taco that is ... «Wired, Jul 15»
5
Unlikely Targets in Cross Hairs as Russia Aims to Expose Foreign …
Mr. Zimin became an unlikely casualty of Russia's campaign to expose foreign influences that President Vladimir V. Putin has deemed threatening. While some ... «New York Times, Jul 15»
6
Lending Club and Smaller Banks in Unlikely Partnership
For a glimpse of how financial technology is bringing together some unlikely bedfellows, look no further than the partnership between online upstart Lending ... «Wall Street Journal, Jun 15»
7
Brownsville's Unlikely Rugby Dynasty
Unlikely as it may seem, rugby has emerged as a vital outlet and a proven path. Issa Sylla, who starred for Mr. Grozav's original teams and was valedictorian in ... «New York Times, Jun 15»
8
Trainers Intended as Lift, but Quick Iraq Turnaround Is Unlikely
But Mr. Obama's plan for Anbar — its provincial capital of Ramadi is less than 70 miles from Baghdad — is unlikely to begin a speedy turnaround in a conflict in ... «New York Times, Jun 15»
9
Ashley Brokaw: Fashion's Most Unlikely Power Player
The odd, unconventional beauty of today's most successful models is largely the result of the vision of one woman. Meet the industry's in-demand casting ... «New York Times, Jun 15»
10
In the Unlikely Event review – Judy Blume's extraordinary tale of real …
Even more extraordinarily, In the Unlikely Event is a fiction based on real-life events Blume herself lived through. She grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was ... «The Guardian, Jun 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Unlikely [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/unlikely>. Apr 2024 ».
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