How to Use unlikely in a Sentence

unlikely

adjective
  • A big city seems like an unlikely place to find wildlife.
  • He was an unlikely candidate for the position.
  • I received support from an unlikely ally.
  • All that said, the bill seems unlikely to pass.
    — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2026
  • He’s gone now and is unlikely to come back.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
  • This is more unlikely than that.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2026
  • That feels unlikely at this stage.
    — Gregg Evans, New York Times, 13 May 2026
  • The debate is unlikely to fade once the game ends.
    — Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026
  • But the issue is unlikely to wait that long.
    — Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
  • The first two rounds saw an unlikely name claim the top of the leaderboard.
    — Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 17 May 2025
  • But, the tariff war is unlikely to be over.
    — London Business School, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • So worst-case would be a fifth-place finish, which is unlikely.
    — Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
  • When brands are struggling, one plus one is unlikely to equal three.
    — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026
  • It’s been a crazy year, and things are unlikely to settle down any time soon.
    — Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • Chris and his/your peeps are unlikely to forgive you, so just leave them alone.
    — Wayne and Wanda, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Aug. 2023
  • And unlikely to get better any time soon.
    — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2025
  • That has to be viewed as highly unlikely.
    — Sean Gentille, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • If that sounds like an unlikely coupling, that's the point.
    — Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Swartz has some unlikely allies in the cannabis world.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026
  • The Blob Man got a face, thanks to a most unlikely hero.
    — John Archibald, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The good news is that Harden seems unlikely to do so.
    — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
  • Except there are signs both bets are unlikely to be winners in the near term.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes, 2 May 2022
  • An unlikely save by Olivia Boberg was huge, too.
    — Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The bill has stalled in the Senate and is unlikely to be passed.
    — Jim Defede, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Step by step, the unlikely pair began the journey back to the trail.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
  • In many ways, Biden is an unlikely scourge of the C-suite class.
    — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024
  • My guess is that those who signed the pledge are unlikely to make fine distinctions.
    — Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2025
  • And so college back then seemed a distant and unlikely dream.
    — Michael Vasquez, NPR, 22 Aug. 2025
  • The idea that those readers would then turn around and pay for her content seems unlikely.
    — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Cart abandonment rates are unlikely to fall on their own.
    — Vin Sonpal, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unlikely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: