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# unlikely

«unlikely» in Mova's school dictionary: **probably not going to happen or probably not true** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (unlikely, more unlikely or unlikelier, most unlikely or unlikeliest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Unlikely means probably not going to happen or probably not true. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#m1)

2) Unlikely means surprising or not what you would expect: «an unlikely friendship», «an unlikely hero». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In maths lessons on chance and probability, events are placed on a scale: impossible, unlikely, even chance, likely, certain. «It is unlikely to snow in summer in Sydney.» A probability close to 0 is unlikely. In stories «an unlikely hero» is someone small or shy who saves the day. Phrases: «highly unlikely», «unlikely to», «it is unlikely that», «in the unlikely event».

### examples

- It's unlikely to rain today. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x1)
- Rolling a six three times in a row is unlikely. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x2)
- They became unlikely friends — a dog and a duck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x3)
- It is unlikely that he forgot. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x4)
- In the unlikely event of a fire, use the stairs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x5)
- Put «unlikely» on the probability line. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x6)
- The mouse was an unlikely hero. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/#x7)

### note

Not an adverb, even though it ends in -ly: «it is unlikely», not «he ran unlikely». Maths: unlikely ≠ impossible — an unlikely event can still happen. Probability scale: 0 impossible, near 0 unlikely, 1/2 even chance, near 1 likely, 1 certain.

### In the corpora

- [One extra pinch of food is very unlikely to kill a fish; an honest mistake is not the same as meaning harm.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/55-when-a-small-pet-dies-fish-hamsters-and-budgies/10/)
- [No humans have yet gone to Mars, and a crewed landing is unlikely before the 2030s, whatever some headlines say.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/space/30-what-comes-next-the-moon-mars-and-beyond/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «unlikely» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unlikely/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.