(a.) Not probable; unlikely to be true; not to be expected under the circumstances or in the usual course of events; as, an improbable story or event.
Example Sentences:
(1) Schneiderlin, valued at an improbable £27m, and the currently injured Jay Rodriguez are wanted by their former manager Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs, but the chairman Ralph Krueger has apparently called a halt to any more outgoings, saying: “They are part of the core that we have decided to keep at Southampton.” He added: “Jay Rodriguez and Morgan Schneiderlin are not for sale and they will be a part of our club as we enter the new season.” The new manager Ronald Koeman has begun rebuilding by bringing in Dusan Tadic and Graziano Pellè from the Dutch league and Krueger said: “We will have players coming in, we will make transfers to strengthen the squad.
(2) He admitted that he had “no reason” to fire the shots that killed Steenkamp, as Nel told him: “Your version is so improbable, that nobody would ever think it’s reasonably, possibly true, it’s so impossible … Your version is a lie.” Nel said the phrase “I love you” appeared only twice in WhatsApp messages from Steenkamp and, on both occasions, they were written to her mother: “Never to you and you never to her.” Day 20: live coverage as it happened.
(3) Their behavior may be rationalized by assuming that at low concentrations they bind to the primary binding site making rebinding of once dissociated [3H]QNB molecules improbable (competitive mechanism), whereas at high concentrations they also act on a secondary (allosteric) binding site stabilizing the [3H]QNB receptor complexes by slowing their off-kinetics.
(4) As for the speaker in parliament Thura Shwe Mann, a former general, he has formed an improbable alliance with Aung San Suu Kyi, on the assumption that she might help him thwart the plans of his former cronies.
(5) He is helped by constituency boundaries that skew the pitch in Labour’s favour, but even then the leap required looks improbable.
(6) It is improbable that the platform-pendulum controversy is due to differences in the amount of PS deprivation or the other sleep parameters measured here.
(7) Comparison of the upstream regions of the SAA genes with those of the rat fibrinogen genes, whose expression is also induced by inflammation, reveals sequences common to all six genes which are very improbable on a random basis.
(8) No positive reactions occurred in either of the tests so that phototoxic effects can be excluded and a photoallergic potential is improbable.
(9) It said those concerned were "not shouting it from the rooftops" but "sheltering their holdings behind increasingly improbably names".
(10) This finding in conjunction with the observation that the generation of (Phe, G)- and Pro--L-specific responses were associated in individual recipients injected with limiting inocula of thymocytes indicated that a single population of thymocytes was stimulated by (Phe,G)-Pro--L. Therefore, it is improbable that the thymic population of immunocompetent cells contributes to expression of these genetically controlled defects.
(11) (viii) It is highly improbable that within the last few years two viruses (HIV-1 and HIV-2) that are only 40% sequence-related would have evolved that could both cause the newly defined syndrome AIDS.
(12) The chromosome abnormalities were so severe that it is highly improbable that mitosis led to successful nuclear multiplication within a given syncytium.
(13) The Argentinian's equaliser was also hit from an improbable angle but it was a much more presentable chance than his first-half efforts – City's passing move had been direct, featuring two consecutive forward passes with Nasri playing a wonderful assist, and City had cut through the Chelsea defence swiftly.
(14) Jackson, too, wears black shoes and black clothes, and, improbably for his age, has mostly black hair.
(15) They could have scored more had they needed to but began to play overambitious passes and attempt improbable shots.
(16) So it didn't matter how unlike Miliband Wallace was, as long as they shared the attribute of seeming an improbable sort to be prime minister.
(17) Its perception of the improbability of living states is at least partially an artifact of closed system thinking.
(18) Typical arrangements of the EEG-context which make improbable an assumption of a structural lesion can be demonstrated for certain anterior-left as well as posterior-right localized patterns.
(19) The narrative drivers are pretty slack – improbable dialogue ("I'm a very wealthy man, Miss Steele, and I have expensive and absorbing hobbies"); lame characterisation; irritating tics (a constant war between Steele's "subconscious", which is always fainting or putting on half-moon glasses, and her "inner goddess", who is forever pouting and stamping); and an internal monologue that goes like this … "Holy hell, he's hot!
(20) It therefore seems improbable that a definitive decision concerning the use of one or another of these agents can be made.
Unlikelihood
Definition:
(n.) Absence of likelihood.
Example Sentences:
(1) The US state department stressed that Kerry was making a rhetorical argument about the one-week deadline and unlikelihood of Assad turning over Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.
(2) Despite the a priori unlikelihood of useful information developing from studies in any of these areas, such investigations are being pursued, and the results are proving to be stimulating.
(3) A stronger proposal would have thus acknowledged the unlikelihood of a politically inclusive transition process, and asked how Egypt's economy could be resuscitated in light of this reality.
(4) First, the markets might be going belly-up at the uncertainty about forming a new government and the unlikelihood of a strong one.
(5) The overwhelming unlikelihood of that leads me to conclude that he was murdered.” Galloway said he did not believe that president Assad or the deputy foreign minister were responsible for the murder.
(6) The findings are discussed in the light of cationic activations of glycosyltransferases generally, of the porous nature of the Golgi membrane, and of the unlikelihood of bivalent metal ions being the physiological activators of galactosyltransferase.
(7) The unlikelihood of predominantly HLA-associated control of viral antibody response was discussed.
(8) Positions on both sides have been hardening since the government called off negotiations last week, citing the unlikelihood of a constructive outcome given their sharp differences.
(9) The second major advantage of clozapine is its paucity of acute neurological effects and its apparent unlikelihood to produce tardive dyskinesia.
(10) The unlikelihood of its being produced by autolytic enzymes is discussed.
(11) The approach does not compromise definitive surgery (external or internal hemipelvectomy) in the unlikelihood that the lesion is found to be malignant.
(12) In view of the unlikelihood of regulation that is both sensitive and effective in containing costs, the author proposes that we rely primarily on consumer incentives to reform the system.
(13) Scientific data indicate the unlikelihood of smallpox recurring once it has been eradicated from the human population, although further confirmatory studies are continuing.
(14) Claudius's justifications probably went along the lines of: his seasoned political astuteness versus his nephew's lack of experience; the Norwegian threat requiring a safe pair of hands; the unlikelihood of Gertrude having more children, meaning that Hamlet's inheritance was only being postponed, as he would almost certainly be Claudius's eventual heir.
(15) The unlikelihood of an important proliferative signal triggered by IL2 was confirmed in a semisolid clonogenic assay, which failed to document an increased colony growth in the 26 samples studied.
(16) Despite reports of condom failure with clients, widespread condom use among these women suggests the unlikelihood of significant heterosexual spread of HIV.
(17) This would imply resignation to the unlikelihood of moral development.
(18) The patients' clinical courses and the unlikelihood of coincidence of contracting both diseases suggested to us a causal relationship.
(19) The antihypertensive effect appeared to be restricted to compounds with oxidation rates within a narrow range, indicating the unlikelihood of increasing the duration of the pharmacologic effect by stabilisation of the dihydropyridine system.
(20) Thursday is the next opportunity to have a diplomatic discussion and I think it is safe to lean into the unlikelihood of making announcements before Thursday," said Jen Psaki, the state department's chief spokesperson, when asked about possible new sanctions.