# unlike

Pronunciation: say "un-LYK" /ʌnˈlaɪk/

## Preposition

1. Different from, or in contrast with, another person or thing.
   - Simple: Not the same as someone or something else. You use it to show how two things are different.
   - _Unlike most reptiles, this species cares for its young after hatching._
   - _The new manager, unlike his predecessor, welcomed every question._
3. Not typical of a particular person's usual character or behavior.
   - Simple: Not how a certain person usually behaves.
   - _It was unlike Maria to leave without saying goodbye._
   - _Such carelessness is quite unlike the careful engineer we know._

## Adjective

2. Not similar; having no resemblance to something else.
   - Simple: Different from someone or something else.
   - _Though raised together, the cousins are strikingly unlike._
   - _Under the microscope, the two fibers looked entirely unlike._
5. Not equal; differing in quantity, size, or degree.
   - Simple: Not equal in size, amount, or value.
   - _Before you add fractions with unlike denominators, such as 1/3 and 1/4, rewrite them over a common one._
   - _The worksheet mixed problems with like and unlike denominators so the class could practice both._

## Verb

4. To cancel a previously given 'like' on a social media post.
   - Simple: To take back a 'like' you gave to a post online.
   - _If you change your mind, you can unlike a comment at any time._
   - _He unliked every photo from the account before blocking it._
8. To withdraw one's support or enjoyment from something.
   - Simple: To stop supporting or enjoying something.

## Noun

6. The act of removing a previously given 'like' from a social media post.
   - Simple: The act of taking back a 'like' from an online post.
   - _A sudden wave of unlikes pushed the post off the trending page._
   - _Every unlike was logged on the dashboard within seconds._
7. A thing that does not resemble something else; a different one.
   - Simple: A thing that is different from another thing.

## Adjective

9. Not likely to happen; improbable or doubtful. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Probably not going to happen.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To feel dislike toward someone or something.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5, 7, 9** — From Middle English unlic, from Old English unlīċ, unġelīċ ("unlike, different, dissimilar"), from Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz. By surface analysis it is un- plus "like," and it is related to Dutch ongelijk, German ungleich, and Old Norse úlíkr.
**Meanings 4, 6, 8** — From Middle English unliken, unlyken, equivalent to un- plus "like."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/unlike (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).