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▪ I. unˈlikely, a. (and n.)
[un-1 7. Cf. ON. úlíkligr (Icel. ólíklegur, MSw. olikliker, Sw. oliklig, MDa. uligelig, Norw. ulikleg).]
1. Not likely to occur or come to pass; improbable in respect of occurrence.
1375Barbour Bruce ix. 670 He oft full vnlikly thing Brocht rycht weill to full gud ending. 1488Cely Papers (Camden) 169 They of Bruges sayth all schall be well schorttly but hytt ys onlyckly. 1513Douglas æneid xi. viii. 119 Tyme..Reducit hes full mony onlikly thyng To bettir fyne than was thair begynning. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. xxxvi. (1536) R ii, The more yll they vtter, the more vnlykely is the redres therof ageyn. c1580Bugbears i. ii. 121 Why is it a thing vnpossyble or vnlikelie that sprites wil deall withe gold? 1642D. Rogers Naaman 200 Thus Papists conceiue it an unlikelyer thing, that [etc.]. 1692Bentley Boyle Lect. 218 Which makes it..more improbable, that they should interfere..even in the last and unlikeliest instance. 1861Paley æschylus (ed. 2) Supplices 979 note, However, κἄωρα is an unlikely crasis.
b. Not likely to be true or correct; improbable in respect of fact.
1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 989 The one doth flatter thee in thoughts unlikely, In likely thoughts the other kills thee quickly. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 595 Josephus and Eusebius thinke them to bee the Israelites, which is vnlikely. 1673Dryden Marr. à la Mode iii. i, They tell, for news, such unlikely stories! 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 141 An Opinion very unlikely, to believe Trees have their Male and Female. 1780Mirror No. 73, If this..be the effect of habit, which is not unlikely. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 231 The presence of Matilda..at such a time is in itself unlikely.
c. Not likely, in various implications.
1535Coverdale Ecclus. xi. 6 Many tyrauntes haue bene fayne to syt downe vpon the earth, & ye vnlickly hath worne ye crowne. 1593Sidney's Arcadia iv. ⁋1 That by unlikeliest meanes greatest matters may come to conclusion. 1622Donne Serm. 25 A farre vnlikelier sort of people, then any of these. 1656Cowley Davideis iv. 828 Nor would ill Fate that meant me to surprise, Come cloath'd in so unlikely a Disguise. 1694Atterbury Serm. Isaiah lx. 22 14 This..was an Unlikely way of gaining Proselytes. 1749G. Lavington Enthus. Meth. & Papists ii. (1754) 129 He cures Diseases..with unlikely Remedies. 1774G. White Selborne lxi, A succession [of swifts] still haunts the same unlikely roofs. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre xxxiv, That a poor lad was come, at that unlikely time, to fetch Mr. Rivers. 1855A. J. Morris Words for Heart & Life iii. 52 God is in the habit of employing unlikely instruments. 1898‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner ii, Cases where brilliant men have failed and unlikely ones have covered themselves with..glory.
Comb.1858Faber Spir. Confer. (1870) 131 Those vices of which the unlikeliest-looking souls are often the likeliest to be guilty.
d. n. An unlikely person.
1867Latham Black & White 98 He goes round with his..papers, dealing one to each passenger likely or unlikely (because the unlikelies would be offended if omitted).
2. With complement:
a. With to and inf. (active or passive).
1395Purvey Remonstr. (1851) 84 The noueltees of this Innocent ben vnlicli to be sothe. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 23 Vnlikly [it was] euere vs to han had victorie. c1450Mirk's Festial 140 Ierusalem..was þe strengest cyte yn all þe world, and vnlykly forto haue ben wonon. 1611Florio, Inaccadeuole, vnlikely to chance or befall. 1658Osborne Adv. Son Wks. (1673) 112 The not unlikeliest to know Truth. 1711Steele Spect. No. 143 ⁋1 It will be much more unlikely for us to be well-pleased. 1764Museum Rust. IV. 11 Salt-petre Bay, which is not unlikely to have been so denominated from salt-petre there. 1842Loudon Suburban Hort. 377 They are the most unlikely to become fruit-buds. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 216 He was as unlikely as Grahame to take..to the improvement of the common people.
b. With that and clause.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 3243 For now, allas! vnlikly is þat we Shal euere wynne..þis cite. 1722Wollaston Relig. Nat. v. (1724) 82 Make him understand how unlikely a thing it is, that they should be placed there only to adorn..a canopy over our heads. 1855Orr's Circ. Sci., Inorg. Nat. 226 It is not unlikely that the gas thus formed occupies the place of water. 1884Thompson Tumours of Bladder 55 It is not unlikely that some of these may be congenital.
†3. Unsuitable, unsuited; not fit or proper. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 936 That whan I considere youre beautee, And ther with al the vnlikly elde of me, I may nat certes..Forbere to been out of youre compaignye. c1440J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iii. 782 His clothis to his woordis arn ful onlykly. 1470–85Malory Arthur ii. viii. 84 Thou art a boystous man and an vnlykely to telle of suche dedes. 1571Southampton Court Leet Rec. (1905) i. 77 Such as arre..unlyklye and unmeete men to serve for that poorpose. 1588Nottingham Rec. lv. 221 Yt ys an onlykelye house for suche one to dwelle there.
b. Unseemly, unbecoming; not acceptable or agreeable; objectionable, distasteful. Obs. exc. dial.
1456[see unlikeliness 2]. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 263 On a caar wnlikly thai him cast. a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. ii. (1912) 153 For a very unlikely envie she hath stumbled upon, against the Princesses..beautie. 1590Serpent of Devis. B j/2 The most unlikely person and the most wretch that in any countrye might be found. 1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. i. 24 Yet I am tall, and as weel built as thee, Nor mair unlikely to a lass's eye. 1889N.W. Linc. Gloss. 586 Unlikely, bad, displeasing.
†c. Unpromising; poor in quality or condition.
1560Rolland Seven Sages 46 This auld tre..fra the ȝoung takis all substance and air;..Sa the ȝoung plant is sa vnliklie maid. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 522 That Forests..should be driven once in the year, and unlikely Tits in them to be killed.
▪ II. unˈlikely, adv.
[un-1 11: cf. prec. and MSw. oliklika.]
Improbably.
c1449Pecock Repr. iii. xiii. 361 The oon bifore seid epistle putt and ascryued vnlikeli to Constantyn. 1641Milton Ch. Govt. i. vii. 40 [He] may fall not unlikely sometimes..into an uncouth opinion. 1716Pope Lett. (1737) I. 146 The pleasures..must undoubtedly be of a nobler kind, and (not unlikely) may proceed from the discoveries each shall communicate to another, of God and of nature. 1830Southey in Corr. w. C. Bowles (1881) 199 This provides also (most unlikely) in case of his half-craziness again becoming whole-craziness. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. I. v. 298 The church..may, not unlikely, have been raised..to commemorate the event. |