UNLIKELY


Meaning of UNLIKELY in English

adjective

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

an unlikely hero (= someone who you did not expect to be brave or did not expect to admire )

Baxter was the unlikely hero of the game.

an unlikely scenario

I might get the job, but it is an unlikely scenario.

an unlikely setting

This quiet suburb may seem an unlikely setting for a top restaurant.

highly unlikely/likely/improbable/probable

It’s highly unlikely that the project will be finished on time.

it seems likely/unlikely/reasonable/clear (that)

It seems likely that he will miss Ireland’s next match.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

extremely

It was also aware that a further renewal of the Carnegie Trust's grant was extremely unlikely .

Continued presentation of the scenes within the pairing phase is extremely unlikely to result in an unconditioned response.

However the constraints are such that without new legislation it is extremely unlikely that this is an option open to the Catholic sector.

But it is extremely unlikely that any answer will be received.

However, transplantations of a head from one body to another are extremely unlikely .

You are extremely unlikely to eat this amount - some 9000 calories - in one day.

But that Parliament has not met since 1706 and is extremely unlikely ever to meet again.

It is extremely unlikely that if the House of Lords did not exist it would be invented in its present form.

highly

If what he says is true, which is highly unlikely , they must visit his latrine during the hours of darkness.

On the other hand, the Jackson amendment seemed highly unlikely to pass Congress, and the attempt could be costly politically.

A return to formalism is highly unlikely given popular expectations of individualized justice.

And is it not highly unlikely that there should be a rule which ensures that what we desire will come about?

A couple of other points that make the purchase of Gazza highly unlikely . 1.

This makes it highly unlikely that the council will be able to meet the three-month deadline on any site.

This would appear to be highly unlikely .

It is, therefore, highly unlikely that imitation of adult models can explain their occurrence.

most

It is most unlikely that without the reformulation a hearer would have even understood what the first segment was about.

Tomorrow's meeting at Carlisle, where the track is currently frozen, is most unlikely to go ahead.

It's most unlikely that will be achieved if the rolled joint or poultry is cooked from frozen. 3.

The tale is inherently a most unlikely one, uniting a pious lady with a pagan fertility ritual.

Even the most unlikely avenues are worth exploring.

Stars have risen from the most unlikely backgrounds, as Pauline Norton's Bubbles proves.

You should not arrive early as we are most unlikely to have waiting space available in the lounge area.

Unless there are political brownie points from on high it is most unlikely you will receive assistance.

very

The Depression and the decline of the Distressed Areas made a return to such unrest very unlikely .

You are very unlikely to be suffering from it, as it is almost entirely confined to males.

The demands made by terminals on channels and lines are very unlikely to exceed their capacity.

These last three are very , very unlikely , but that is all one can say.

And for any of these suspects to have done it, one had to posit a very unlikely set of circumstances.

It is very unlikely to be roads with the depth of popular feeling on the subject at the moment.

Nails was very unlikely to have left the car in the same place; he never did, it was too inconvenient.

It seemed very unlikely that Friend was from Madreidetic.

■ NOUN

event

In the unlikely event of trouble they would understandably not want to carry the can alone.

Except in the unlikely event that rates soon plummet, it could cost the bank up to £100m this year.

place

On my birth certificate it states that I was born in Oban, which seems an unlikely place for the second coming.

To that end, I try to give my sons mentors, and these come from unlikely places .

Young cuckoos are sometimes reared in the most unlikely places .

Discharges are contacted, often, in very unlikely places .

And despite the recession, it has a full order book with some requests from the most unlikely places .

Such sanctions permeated society and popped up even in the most unlikely places .

It is an unlikely place for a revolution.

Five Forks, like most battlefields, is an unlikely place for such carnage.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

A small amount of the drug is unlikely to have any harmful effects.

I think it's unlikely that the police had anything to do with it.

It's highly unlikely that Burton will be the party's nominee.

It is unlikely that anyone saw the attack.

She might come with us, but it's fairly unlikely .

Students invent all sorts of unlikely explanations as to why they can't do their homework.

That sounds a pretty unlikely story to me!

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

A large proportion of our researchers are therefore unlikely to make major contributions to the literature of their research area.

Anthony eventually tracks him down and the unlikely chums share a drink or two too many.

But they are unlikely to be able to save more than a dozen or so seats.

Ex-journo turned editor, his recent tome Gothic Rock enjoyed the unlikely publishing coup of having no competition.

It is unlikely to put them out.

It will be gearing up this year, but is unlikely to repeat the 1991 rights issue.

Waterstone's was an unlikely success story of the 80s Thatcherite boom.

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.