How to Use unlikely in a Sentence

unlikely

adjective
Definition of unlikelynext
Synonyms for unlikelynext
  • A big city seems like an unlikely place to find wildlife.
  • He was an unlikely candidate for the position.
  • I received support from an unlikely ally.
  • The study is unlikely to be the last word on the fate of the West Antarctic ice shelves.
    — Raymond Zhong, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2023
  • In many ways, Biden is an unlikely scourge of the C-suite class.
    — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
  • But at this early stage in the race, that looks unlikely.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 18 Apr. 2023
  • The same thing is unlikely to happen with a 4.5-year-old buck who’s wise about hunters.
    — Travis Smola, Field & Stream, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Roy sits on the committee, and is unlikely to vote in favor of the bill.
    — Sara Dorn, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Walk-on Mekhi Mews has been an unlikely Georgia star through the first two games.
    — Creg Stephenson | [email protected], al, 16 Sep. 2023
  • But the trio also warned staff at a town hall late last month that the deal talks were unlikely to subside.
    — Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 July 2024
  • And yes, shifts in non-swing states matter, even if Harris is unlikely to win them in the end.
    — G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2024
  • This often means some unlikely characters end up on the side of the good.
    — Scott Bradfield, The New Republic, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Chris and his/your peeps are unlikely to forgive you, so just leave them alone.
    — Wayne and Wanda, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Aug. 2023
  • The only reason Jim’s dad could be the unlikely thread through the franchise was because of what Levy did with the role.
    — Hunter Ingram, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The prospect of such places, of course, remains highly unlikely.
    — Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 12 Apr. 2024
  • That means that the money for the program is unlikely to be affected by the new rule this year.
    — Anna Sago, Kansas City Star, 21 May 2024
  • For many, the pleas from firms for more time — that the next decade in markets is unlikely to resemble the last — ring hollow.
    — Justina Lee, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2024
  • But that trip is unlikely to take place now, Fulton said.
    — Nectar Gan, CNN, 11 Oct. 2023
  • Both the zipper at the top and on the interior pocket are strong and very unlikely to get caught or break.
    — Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Sep. 2023
  • Folks again can peer down into the showboat scene of that water ride, but that seems unlikely to last.
    — Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Dec. 2022
  • Hill would later reveal that the merging of the movies was unlikely to happen.
    — Lexy Perez, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 June 2024
  • Molina then meets Marxist Valentin Arregui Paz in his cell, and the two form an unlikely bond.
    — Michaela Zee, Variety, 7 Jan. 2024
  • The answer is unlikely to be commuting to an office to be on Zooms all day.
    — Jane Thier, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2023
  • While your instinct might be to run away, choosing to act first and think later, this is unlikely to be the route to success.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2024
  • Iowa isn’t even considered a swing state, and Harris is unlikely to win it.
    — The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Doing so is extremely unlikely to bring them to your side of the debate.
    — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 6 July 2024
  • Such an outcome seemed unlikely less than three weeks ago.
    — Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 30 Mar. 2023
  • Most voters of all stripes want the trials to take place before people vote, but that seems unlikely.
    — David Jackson, USA TODAY, 10 July 2023
  • The lengthy appeals process would be unlikely to wrap up before Election Day.
    — Nik Popli, TIME, 21 May 2024
  • The military and the civil service are unlikely to take any provocative action that would trigger, let alone justify, such a purge.
    — Peter D. Feaver, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unlikely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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