# unlikely

Pronunciation: say "un-LYK-lee" /ʌnˈlaɪkli/

## Adjective

1. Not probable; not to be reasonably expected to happen or be true.
   - Simple: Not expected to happen or likely to be true.
   - _An unlikely series of coincidences brought the two strangers together._
   - _It is unlikely that prices will fall before the holidays._
2. Offering little prospect of success; likely to fail or to prove disappointing.
   - Simple: Not seeming likely to do well or to succeed.
   - _Investors avoided the unlikely venture, doubting it could ever turn a profit._
   - _Her chances of promotion seemed unlikely after the first round of cuts._

## Adverb

3. In an improbable manner; in a way not to be reasonably expected.
   - Simple: In a way that is not likely or expected to happen.
   - _The negotiations concluded unlikely, with both sides conceding more than anyone foresaw._
   - _Matters turned out unlikely, the weakest contender emerging victorious._

## Noun

4. A person or thing regarded as improbable or not expected to succeed.
   - Simple: A person or thing that is not expected to happen or to win.
   - _Commentators love an unlikely, the contender no model predicted would advance._
   - _The bracket was stacked with unlikelies that bookmakers had already written off._

## Origin

From Middle English unlykely (also spelled unlikly, unlykly, unlicli), formed from the prefix un- plus likely.

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