unlikelihood

/ʌnˈlaɪklihʊd/ (bre, ipa) · /ʌnˈlaɪklihʊd/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌən-ˈlī-klē-ˌhu̇d/ (ame, mw)

unlikelihood — 名詞

1. a very small chance that something will happen, or that an idea will prove corre

1.名詞C1
釋義

可能性低

某事不太會發生或成真

a very small chance that something will happen, or that an idea will prove correct.

例句

Everyone laughed at the unlikelihood of Uncle Farid winning the city marathon.

大家都笑說 Uncle Farid 幾乎不可能贏得那場城市馬拉松。

pattern: the unlikelihood of + gerund

Police noted the unlikelihood that both windows broke at exactly the same time.

警方指出，兩扇窗戶剛好在同一時間破掉的可能性很低。

pattern: the unlikelihood that + clause

同義詞
  • improbability

    more formal and common in academic or technical writing

  • implausibility

    focuses more on whether something seems believable than on the chance of it happening

反義詞
  • likelihood

    neutral word for the chance that something will happen

  • probability

    often used in more formal or mathematical contexts

文法句型

the unlikelihood of + noun/gerund

the unlikelihood that + clause

用法筆記

Most often used with the and followed by of or that. It usually stresses doubt or surprise, while likelihood is a more neutral word for the chance of something happening.

常見錯誤

❌There is an unlikelihood it will rain.
✅There is little likelihood that it will rain.
💡unlikelihood is usually used in the pattern 'the unlikelihood of/that', not as a simple substitute for likelihood in every sentence.