not probable; not likely to happen or be true; unlikely
Origin of improbable
Classical Latin improbabilis
adjective
- The idea that the sun spins around the Earth is an example of something that would be described as a improbable idea.
- When they are calling for a 90 percent chance of rain, this is an example of a time when sunshine is improbable.
The definition of improbable is something unlikely to happen or unlikely to be true.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"improbable." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE>.
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improbable. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE
improbable
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"improbable." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE>.
APA Style
improbable. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE
improbable
adjective
Unlikely to take place or be true.
Related Forms:
- im·prob′a·ble·ness
noun
- im·prob′a·bly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"improbable." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE>.
APA Style
improbable. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE
Adjective
(comparative more improbable, superlative most improbable)
- Not likely to be true.
- It's highly improbable that aliens abducted you.
- Not likely to happen.
- Due to the loss of power, it is improbable that we will begin on time.
Origin
From Middle French improbable, from im- + probable
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"improbable." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 13 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE>.
APA Style
improbable. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/IMPROBABLE
Sentence Examples
- One hears such improbable wonders about you.
- It is improbable that he meant his order to be literally executed, it is not certain that he knew they had taken the oath of allegiance to him.
- But it may perhaps be considered improbable that organs like the wings, having once been lost, should have been reacquired on the large scale suggested by the theory just put forward.
- It is not improbable that these chapters are based on an earlier Jewish writing.
- The crops chiefly cultivated were wheat, millet, barley, beans and lentils; to which it is supposed, on grounds not improbable, may be added rice and cotton.
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WORDS NEAR improbable IN THE DICTIONARY
- improbable
- imprisons
- impro
- improbabilities