Unlikely

How to spell unlikely

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce unlikely

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unlikely mean?

1. adjectiveNot likely to happen or be true; improbable.

Unlikely in a sentence

• Rain seems unlikely given the clear forecast.

• It is unlikely that the shop will reopen before noon.

Where does unlikely come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built from native English elements, all of Germanic stock. The core is 'like', which descends from the Old English 'gelic', meaning 'similar' or 'having the same form', a relative of German 'gleich'. By the medieval period 'likely' had developed the extended sense of 'probable', the idea being that something resembling the expected pattern is the thing most apt to happen. Adding the prefix 'un-', the ordinary Old English negator meaning 'not', simply reverses that judgement to 'not probable'. The form settled in Middle English and has kept its transparent three-part build ever since, which is why the spelling trap is mild: the only thing to watch is keeping the silent-looking 'like' intact before the '-ly' ending.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• like (similar, probable)
• -ly (adjective/adverb suffix)