unlikely
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++un·like·ly /ʌnˈlaɪkli/ ●●● S3 W2 adjective 1 PROBABLY#not likely to happen 未必会发生的，不大可能的 Donna might be able to come tomorrow, but it’s very unlikely. 唐娜明天也许能来，不过这可能性很小。unlikely to do something The weather is unlikely to improve over the next few days. 接下来的几天天气不大可能好转。it is unlikely (that) It’s unlikely that the thieves will be caught. 这伙窃贼被抓住的可能性不大。in the unlikely event of something (=if something which is unlikely happens) 万一 In the unlikely event of a fire, passengers should move to the top deck. 万一发生火警，乘客应转移到顶层甲板上。2 RELATIONSHIPan unlikely place, person, or thing is strange and not what you would expect 〔地点、人或事〕非想象中的 The birds had nested in some unlikely places. 这种鸟在让人意想不到的地方筑了巢。 The quiet village of Brockhampton was an unlikely setting for such a crime. 很难相信宁静的布罗克汉普顿村会发生这样的犯罪。3 BELIEVE#not likely to be true 不大可能是真的，靠不住的 an unlikely story 不大可信的说法n COLLOCATIONSadverbshighly/most/very unlikelyIt’s highly unlikely that he’ll survive.extremely unlikelyThe government is extremely unlikely to change its policy.rather/pretty/quite/fairly unlikelyI may have thrown it away by mistake, but that’s pretty unlikely.increasingly unlikely (=more and more unlikely as time passes)It looks increasingly unlikely that the Bank of England will cut interest rates.nounsan unlikely possibility/prospectThe most unlikely possibility was that she might resign.an unlikely scenario/occurrenceThey should build a new road, but that’s an unlikely scenario.an unlikely alliance/coalitionOnce he resigned as president, the unlikely coalition of former enemies fell apart. phrasesin the unlikely event of something (=if something which is unlikely happens)In the unlikely event of an accident, the system will automatically shut down.Examples from the Corpus
unlikely• She might come with us, but it's fairly unlikely.• Anthony eventually tracks him down and the unlikely chums share a drink or two too many.• Students invent all sorts of unlikely explanations as to why they can't do their homework.• Ex-journo turned editor, his recent tome Gothic Rock enjoyed the unlikely publishing coup of having no competition.• That sounds a pretty unlikely story to me!• Waterstone's was an unlikely success story of the 80s Thatcherite boom.• It is unlikely that anyone saw the attack.• It's highly unlikely that Burton will be the party's nominee.• I think it's unlikely that the police had anything to do with it.• But they are unlikely to be able to save more than a dozen or so seats.• A small amount of the drug is unlikely to have any harmful effects.• A large proportion of our researchers are therefore unlikely to make major contributions to the literature of their research area.• It is unlikely to put them out.• It will be gearing up this year, but is unlikely to repeat the 1991 rights issue.it is unlikely (that)• And yet, for all the sound and fury, it is unlikely Mr Ashcroft will be rejected by the Senate.• Zeffiro cautions that it is unlikely that all dyslexics have exactly the same underlying brain problems.• With an established, respected management company it is unlikely that any band would secure an agreement for less than five years.• For it is unlikely that many Koi on the market today are without some Doitsu genes.• Therefore, it is unlikely that reflux of acid or gas had occurred just before the onset of the contractile activity.• Indeed, as a general problem, it is unlikely that two divisions will arrive amicably at a suitable transfer price.• But where there is energy there is life, so it is unlikely that you will be jobless or unsuccessful for long.• If such machinations are seldom heard of in this period it is unlikely to be because they were rare.un·like·ly adjective →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
Corpus not likely happen to
unlikely
un‧like‧ly S3 W2 /ʌnˈlaɪkli/
adjective1. not likely to happen:
Donna might be able to come tomorrow, but it’s very unlikely.
unlikely to do something
The weather is unlikely to improve over the next few days.
it is unlikely (that)
It’s unlikely that the thieves will be caught.
in the unlikely event of something (=if something which is unlikely happens)
In the unlikely event of a fire, passengers should move to the top deck.
2. an unlikely place, person, or thing is strange and not what you would expect:
The birds had nested in some unlikely places.
The quiet village of Brockhampton was an unlikely setting for such a crime.
3. not likely to be true:
an unlikely story
■ adverbs
▪highly/most/very unlikely It’s highly unlikely that he’ll survive.
▪extremely unlikely The government is extremely unlikely to change its policy.
▪rather/pretty/quite/fairly unlikely I may have thrown it away by mistake, but that’s pretty unlikely.
▪increasingly unlikely (=more and more unlikely as time passes) It looks increasingly unlikely that the Bank of England will cut interest rates.
■ nouns
▪an unlikely possibility/prospect The most unlikely possibility was that she might resign.
▪an unlikely scenario/occurrence They should build a new road, but that’s an unlikely scenario.
▪an unlikely alliance/coalition Once he resigned as president, the unlikely coalition of former enemies fell apart.
■ phrases
▪in the unlikely event of something (=if something which is unlikely happens) In the unlikely event of an accident, the system will automatically shut down.
un‧like‧ly S3 W2 /ʌnˈlaɪkli/
adjective1. not likely to happen: unlikely to do something
it is unlikely (that)
in the unlikely event of something (=if something which is unlikely happens)
2. an unlikely place, person, or thing is strange and not what you would expect:
3. not likely to be true:
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◆ It's pretty much inevitable that prices will go up this year.今年价格上涨几乎是不可避免的了。 ◆ I think it's likely to rain this afternoon.我觉得今天下午有可能下雨。 ◆ I'm probably going to be away then.到那时候我可能就要离开了。 ◆ I guess there's a fifty per cent chance that they'll say no.我估计他们不同意的几率有百分之五十。 ◆ It's unlikely, but not totally impossible, I suppose. 我想这不大可能，但并非完全没有可能。 ◆ They can't possibly/really be serious about buying a boat!他们不可能真要买一条船吧！ ◆ Let's start without them. They're bound to be late.咱们不等他们了，先开始吧。他们肯定会迟到。