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Unlikely vs Unpossible - What's the difference?

unlikely | unpossible |

As adjectives the difference between unlikely and unpossible

is that unlikely is not likely; improbable; not to be reasonably expected while unpossible is impossible.

As an adverb unlikely

is in an improbable manner.

As a noun unlikely

is something or somebody considered unlikely.

unlikely

English

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • Not likely; improbable; not to be reasonably expected.
  • It's very unlikely that you'll be able to walk perfectly after being in a cast for six months.
  • * 1895 , H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
  • Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing. Yet oddly enough I found here a far more unlikely substance, and that was camphor.
  • Not holding out a prospect of success; likely to fail; unpromising.
  • unlikely means

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • In an improbable manner.
  • Noun

    (unlikelies)
  • Something or somebody considered unlikely.
  • * 1980 , Robert K. Lindsay, Applications of artificial intelligence for organic chemistry
  • The molecular ion candidates are divided by the testing phase into three categories: rejects, unlikelies , and probables. Differences between each candidate and the prominent peaks in the spectrum are computed.
  • * 1996 , Laurie R. King, To Play the Fool
  • "Here is my every possible phone number, plus a few unlikelies . And I've also put down the numbers of Karin and Wade, in case you've lost them. Karin can come anytime; Wade, up until six in the morning."
  • * 2001 , Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Marci Shimoff, Chicken soup for the mother's soul 2 (page 166)
  • Then the most unlikely of unlikelies happened. We got another phone call. Another woman wanted to give us a baby—a boy, born just that morning. We walked into a hospital, and he was placed into my arms.

    References

    *

    unpossible

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Impossible.
  • *1526 , William Tyndale, New Testament , British Library 2000, p. 119:
  • *:And this is the. vj. moneth to her, which was called barren, for with god shall nothinge be unpossible .
  • *, New York Review of Books, 2001, p.280:
  • *:’Tis a hard matter therefore to confine them, being they are so various and many, unpossible to apprehend all.
  • *1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p.97:
  • *:In the evening we fired a few rackets, which flying in the ayre so terrified the poore Salvages, they supposed nothing unpossible we attempted […].
  • *1994 , The Simpsons , "(Lisa on Ice)":
  • *:Ralph Wiggum: Me fail English? That's unpossible !
  • *2008 , David Goldberg, Mimecast , "meeting with HKS":
  • *:I think we can all agree that this is unpossible .
  • Usage notes

    In modern use, the term is usually considered non-standard.