adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an unlikely hero (= someone who you did not expect to be brave or did not expect to admire )
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Baxter was the unlikely hero of the game.
an unlikely scenario
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I might get the job, but it is an unlikely scenario.
an unlikely setting
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This quiet suburb may seem an unlikely setting for a top restaurant.
highly unlikely/likely/improbable/probable
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It’s highly unlikely that the project will be finished on time.
it seems likely/unlikely/reasonable/clear (that)
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It seems likely that he will miss Ireland’s next match.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
extremely
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It was also aware that a further renewal of the Carnegie Trust's grant was extremely unlikely .
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Continued presentation of the scenes within the pairing phase is extremely unlikely to result in an unconditioned response.
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However the constraints are such that without new legislation it is extremely unlikely that this is an option open to the Catholic sector.
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But it is extremely unlikely that any answer will be received.
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However, transplantations of a head from one body to another are extremely unlikely .
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You are extremely unlikely to eat this amount - some 9000 calories - in one day.
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But that Parliament has not met since 1706 and is extremely unlikely ever to meet again.
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It is extremely unlikely that if the House of Lords did not exist it would be invented in its present form.
highly
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If what he says is true, which is highly unlikely , they must visit his latrine during the hours of darkness.
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On the other hand, the Jackson amendment seemed highly unlikely to pass Congress, and the attempt could be costly politically.
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A return to formalism is highly unlikely given popular expectations of individualized justice.
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And is it not highly unlikely that there should be a rule which ensures that what we desire will come about?
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A couple of other points that make the purchase of Gazza highly unlikely . 1.
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This makes it highly unlikely that the council will be able to meet the three-month deadline on any site.
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This would appear to be highly unlikely .
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It is, therefore, highly unlikely that imitation of adult models can explain their occurrence.
most
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It is most unlikely that without the reformulation a hearer would have even understood what the first segment was about.
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Tomorrow's meeting at Carlisle, where the track is currently frozen, is most unlikely to go ahead.
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It's most unlikely that will be achieved if the rolled joint or poultry is cooked from frozen. 3.
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The tale is inherently a most unlikely one, uniting a pious lady with a pagan fertility ritual.
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Even the most unlikely avenues are worth exploring.
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Stars have risen from the most unlikely backgrounds, as Pauline Norton's Bubbles proves.
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You should not arrive early as we are most unlikely to have waiting space available in the lounge area.
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Unless there are political brownie points from on high it is most unlikely you will receive assistance.
very
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The Depression and the decline of the Distressed Areas made a return to such unrest very unlikely .
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You are very unlikely to be suffering from it, as it is almost entirely confined to males.
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The demands made by terminals on channels and lines are very unlikely to exceed their capacity.
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These last three are very , very unlikely , but that is all one can say.
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And for any of these suspects to have done it, one had to posit a very unlikely set of circumstances.
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It is very unlikely to be roads with the depth of popular feeling on the subject at the moment.
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Nails was very unlikely to have left the car in the same place; he never did, it was too inconvenient.
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It seemed very unlikely that Friend was from Madreidetic.
■ NOUN
event
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In the unlikely event of trouble they would understandably not want to carry the can alone.
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Except in the unlikely event that rates soon plummet, it could cost the bank up to £100m this year.
place
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On my birth certificate it states that I was born in Oban, which seems an unlikely place for the second coming.
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To that end, I try to give my sons mentors, and these come from unlikely places .
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Young cuckoos are sometimes reared in the most unlikely places .
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Discharges are contacted, often, in very unlikely places .
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And despite the recession, it has a full order book with some requests from the most unlikely places .
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Such sanctions permeated society and popped up even in the most unlikely places .
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It is an unlikely place for a revolution.
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Five Forks, like most battlefields, is an unlikely place for such carnage.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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A small amount of the drug is unlikely to have any harmful effects.
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I think it's unlikely that the police had anything to do with it.
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It's highly unlikely that Burton will be the party's nominee.
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It is unlikely that anyone saw the attack.
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She might come with us, but it's fairly unlikely .
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Students invent all sorts of unlikely explanations as to why they can't do their homework.
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That sounds a pretty unlikely story to me!
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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A large proportion of our researchers are therefore unlikely to make major contributions to the literature of their research area.
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Anthony eventually tracks him down and the unlikely chums share a drink or two too many.
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But they are unlikely to be able to save more than a dozen or so seats.
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Ex-journo turned editor, his recent tome Gothic Rock enjoyed the unlikely publishing coup of having no competition.
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It is unlikely to put them out.
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It will be gearing up this year, but is unlikely to repeat the 1991 rights issue.
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Waterstone's was an unlikely success story of the 80s Thatcherite boom.