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Definition of improbable adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

improbable

adjective
 
/ɪmˈprɒbəbl/
 
/ɪmˈprɑːbəbl/
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  1. not likely to be true or to happen synonym unlikely
    • an improbable story
    • It all sounded highly improbable.
    • improbable that… It seems improbable that the current situation will continue.
    opposite probable
    Extra Examples
    • These new facts make the theory improbable.
    • a wildly improbable idea
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • look
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    See full entry
  2. seeming strange because it is not what you would expect synonym unexpected
    • Her hair was an improbable shade of yellow.
    3. Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French, or from Latin improbabilis ‘hard to prove’, from in- ‘not’ + probabilis, from probare ‘to test, demonstrate’.
See improbable in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee improbable in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: improbable

Nearby words

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