26984 words

unlikely

4 definitions β€’ 4 examples
1
not probable or likely to happen:

Examples:

[ + (that) ] It's pretty unlikely (that) they'll turn up now - it's nearly ten o'clock.
2
not the same as you would usually expect:

Examples:

He's an unlikely-looking doctor (= he is not what I expect a doctor to look like).
3
probably not true:

Examples:

When I asked what he was doing there, he came up with some unlikely explanation.
4
not expected to happen; not likely:

Examples:

[ + (that) clause ] It’s unlikely (that) we will ever learn what happened.

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