improbable
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Middle French improbable, from im- + probable.
Pronunciation edit
- (General American) IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɹɑbəbl̩/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɹɒbəbl̩/
Audio (UK) (file) - Hyphenation: im‧prob‧a‧ble
Adjective edit
improbable (comparative more improbable, superlative most improbable)
- Not likely to be true.
- It's highly improbable that aliens abducted you.
- 1674, [Richard Allestree], “Of Positiveness”, in The Government of the Tongue. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Theater, →OCLC, page 197:
- Nay, if he be of a proud humour, […] he will not Bate an Ace of abſolute certainty, but however doubtful or improbable the thing is, coming f[r]om him it muſt go for an indiſputable truth.
- Not likely to happen.
- Due to the loss of power, it is improbable that we will begin on time.
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
not likely to be true
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not likely to happen
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also edit
Catalan edit
Adjective edit
improbable m or f (masculine and feminine plural improbables)
- improbable, unlikely
- Antonym: probable
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “improbable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “improbable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “improbable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “improbable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
improbable (plural improbables)
- unlikely, improbable (not likely)
Further reading edit
- “improbable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician edit
Alternative forms edit
Adjective edit
improbable m or f (plural improbables)
- improbable (not likely to happen)
- Antonym: probable
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “improbable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012
Spanish edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
improbable m or f (masculine and feminine plural improbables)
- improbable, unlikely
- Antonym: probable
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
- “improbable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014