improbable
adjUS /ɪmˈpɹɑbəbl̩/ · UK /ɪmˈpɹɒbəbl̩/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin improbābilis. By surface analysis, im- + probable.
1
Not likely to be true.
- It's highly improbable that aliens abducted you.
- Improbabile, that cannot be prooued, improbable.1598, John Florio, “Improbabile”, in A Worlde of Words, or Most Copious, and Exact Dictionarie in Italian and English, […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield for Edw[ard] Blount, →OCLC, page 171, column 1:
2 more examples
- 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.1674, [Richard Allestree], “Of Positiveness”, in The Government of the Tongue. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Theater, →OCLC, page 197:
- It is highly improbable that the drafter of the notice ever visualised the form that heavy vehicles of the future would take, but the comprehensive wording still covers modern types.1955 December, “Notes and News: An Old Midland Railway Bridge Notice”, in Railway Magazine, page 877:
2
Not likely to happen.
- Due to the loss of power, it is improbable that we will begin on time.
- Antonyms
- probable
- Derived terms
- improbability, improbableness, improbably, statistically improbable phrase, superimprobable
- Related terms
- probability, probably, impossible