Unlikely — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred

has little chance of being the case or coming about

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ʌnlˈaɪkli/

🇬🇧British English

/ʌnlˈaɪkli/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ʌnlˈaɪkli/

4 syllables Say it as /ʌnlˈaɪkli/.

Examples

legislation on the question is highly unlikely
an improbable event
an unlikely story

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

unconvincing unbelievable improbable

Antonyms

likely probable

Parts of Speech

adjective	not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred “legislation on the question is highly unlikely”
adjective	has little chance of being the case or coming about “an unlikely story”
adjective	having a probability too low to inspire belief

Word Forms

improbableness	noun	the quality of being improbable
improbability	noun	the quality of being improbable
unlikeliness	noun	the improbability of a specified outcome

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

unwahrscheinlich

Es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass es wahr ist oder eintrifft oder eingetreten ist

🇫🇷French

peu probable

peu susceptible d'être vrai ou de se produire ou de s'être produit

🇪🇸Spanish

improbable

No es probable que sea cierto, que ocurra o que haya ocurrido.

🇮🇹Italian

improbabile

non è probabile che sia vero o che si verifichi o che si sia verificato

🇳🇱Dutch

onwaarschijnlijk

Het is niet waarschijnlijk dat het waar is, zal plaatsvinden of heeft plaatsgevonden

🇵🇹Portuguese

improvável

não é provável que seja verdade ou que ocorra ou que tenha ocorrido

🇷🇺Russian

маловероятно

маловероятно, чтобы быть правдой или произойти или произойти

India

🇮🇳Hindi

संभावना नहीं

सत्य होने या घटित होने या घटित होने की संभावना नहीं है

🇧🇩Bengali

অসম্ভাব্য

সত্য হতে বা ঘটতে বা ঘটেছে হওয়ার সম্ভাবনা নেই

🇮🇳Tamil

சாத்தியமில்லை

உண்மையாகவோ அல்லது நிகழவோ அல்லது நிகழ்ந்திருக்கவோ வாய்ப்பில்லை

🇮🇳Telugu

అసంభవం

నిజం లేదా సంభవించే లేదా సంభవించే అవకాశం లేదు

🇮🇳Marathi

संभव नाही

सत्य असण्याची किंवा घडण्याची किंवा घडण्याची शक्यता नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

અસંભવિત

સાચું હોવાની અથવા બનવાની અથવા આવી હોવાની શક્યતા નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಸಂಭವ

ನಿಜ ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಭವಿಸುವ ಅಥವಾ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿರುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಯಿಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സാധ്യതയില്ല

സത്യമായിരിക്കാനോ സംഭവിക്കാനോ സംഭവിക്കാനോ സാധ്യതയില്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਸੰਭਵ

ਸੱਚ ਹੋਣ ਜਾਂ ਹੋਣ ਜਾਂ ਹੋਣ ਦੀ ਸੰਭਾਵਨਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

امکان نہیں

سچ ہونے یا ہونے یا ہونے کا امکان نہیں ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

不太可能

不太可能是真实的或不会发生或已经发生

🇯🇵Japanese

ありそうもない

真実ではない、起こる可能性が低い、または起こった可能性が低い

🇰🇷Korean

~할 것 같지 않은

사실이 아닐 가능성이 높거나 발생하지 않거나 발생했을 가능성이 없음

🇻🇳Vietnamese

không thể

không có khả năng đúng hoặc xảy ra hoặc đã xảy ra

🇹🇭Thai

ไม่น่าเป็นไปได้

ไม่น่าจะเป็นจริงหรือเกิดขึ้นหรือกำลังเกิดขึ้น

🇮🇩Indonesian

tidak mungkin

tidak mungkin benar atau terjadi atau telah terjadi

🇵🇭Filipino

malabong

hindi malamang na totoo o mangyari o nangyari

🇲🇾Malay

tidak mungkin

tidak mungkin benar atau berlaku atau telah berlaku

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

غير محتمل

ليس من المحتمل أن يكون صحيحا أو أن يحدث أو قد حدث

🇮🇷Persian

بعید است

به احتمال زیاد درست نیست یا رخ می دهد یا اتفاق افتاده است

🇹🇷Turkish

olası değil

doğru olması veya gerçekleşmesi veya meydana gelmesi muhtemel değil

🇮🇱Hebrew

לא סביר

לא סביר שזה נכון או שיתרחש או התרחש

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'unlikely'?

The primary meaning of 'unlikely' is 'not likely to be true or to occur or to have occurred'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'unlikely' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'unlikely' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'unlikely' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'unlikely' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'unlikely' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'unlikely' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'unlikely' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'unlikely' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'unlikely' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'unlikely' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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