How to Use unlikelihood in a Sentence

unlikelihood

noun
  • Given the unlikelihood of a tax increase, these programs will probably run out of funding next year.
  • The unlikelihood of that and the likelihood that someone will be named a first are two sides of the same coin.
    Deborah Roberts, Harper's BAZAAR, 21 Oct. 2020
  • After the Panic of 1873 and the Democratic takeover of the House the following year, the unlikelihood shrank to the vanishing point.
    Allen C. Guelzo, Time, 30 Apr. 2018
  • But many have pointed out the unlikelihood of her hacking claims.
    Paula Rogo, Essence.com, 28 Apr. 2018
  • But the sheer unlikelihood of the story will leave many of us asking one final question: WTF?
    Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Sep. 2023
  • Trump seemed to confirm that unlikelihood in a tweet late Tuesday night.
    Noah Bierman, latimes.com, 18 Apr. 2018
  • The sadness lies in the recognizing of the unlikelihood of anything getting much better anytime soon, what with the slush and the sleet and the coming storm.
    Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2019
  • If that statement had been made before the season, some good money could have been made betting on the unlikelihood of that being the case.
    Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 30 Oct. 2022
  • Given the unlikelihood that the league plays the rest of the regular season and Sekera’s platoon with Roman Polak on the blue line, the Stars should be safe from this bonus.
    Matthew Defranks, Dallas News, 30 Mar. 2020
  • Despite the bitter fight and the bill’s unlikelihood to move anywhere past the House, Dreamers seated in the gallery during Tuesday’s vote kept hope alive.
    Essence, 5 June 2019
  • Now that the end is in sight, a part of Labarbe seems to have trouble believing the unlikelihood of everything that has unfolded.
    Chris O'Brien, latimes.com, 25 June 2019
  • As Gibson rounded the bases and pumped his fist, Scully summed up the unlikelihood of the ex-Tiger taking Eckersley deep.
    Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 3 Aug. 2022
  • Given the unlikelihood that Apple will ever plow that money into a monster deal, the company is right to give back some of the largess.
    Dan Gallagher, WSJ, 28 Apr. 2018
  • Despite the unlikelihood of hitting that mark (Auburn would need to average 5.6 sacks per game the rest of the season, including a bowl game), Auburn is going to keep striving for it.
    Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 21 Sep. 2022
  • But beyond the unlikelihood of this systemic overhaul, there are a number of changes that hospitals and treatment centers can make.
    Ayana Byrd, Health.com, 23 Apr. 2021
  • The unlikelihood of success is not a reason to wink at the audience but rather a reason to root for their victory and hold our breath when defeat seems imminent.
    Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 24 June 2021
  • And even with only eight regular-season games, and the unlikelihood of a playoff format, Hall and her teammates are eager to get started.
    Pat Stoetzer, baltimoresun.com, 23 Apr. 2021
  • There’s also the unlikelihood of a player being productive enough for that long to warrant an everyday spot in the lineup.
    Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, 6 Sep. 2020
  • One notes the flagrant unlikelihood of the man who most needs this book’s advice accepting it from a gentleman who wears patterned frocks and looks like their dotty Aunt Esther.
    Dwight Garner, New York Times, 23 May 2017
  • Rather than rely on assumptions about the unlikelihood of a full-scale war, Western leaders who doubted the prospect of a Russian invasion should have paid more attention to his rhetoric about Ukraine.
    Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 12 June 2023
  • The pushback also illustrates the unlikelihood of a quick transition to post-pandemic life.
    Lev Facher, STAT, 3 Apr. 2021
  • The Senate vote is a hard-fought victory for net neutrality supporters despite the unlikelihood that the resolution will pass the House.
    Alyssa Newcomb /, NBC News, 16 May 2018
  • So while some researchers see the perchlorate find as another sign of life’s unlikelihood on Mars, Schulze-Makuch is positively elated.
    Andrew Lawler, Discover Magazine, 22 Nov. 2010
  • Given the distance between the two sides, and the unlikelihood that North Korea will fully denuclearize, a lasting agreement does not seem possible.
    Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 9 Mar. 2018
  • Both Hagman and Warren acknowledged the unlikelihood that the proposal would succeed.
    Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022
  • And sometimes the fascination lay in the sheer unlikelihood of such an author existing at all, amid the most inauspicious circumstances: a houseful of children, a ne’er-do-well husband, a spindly desk in a drafty hallway.
    Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Fight from the start The NIH reports that, because of the high unlikelihood of survival, a newborn with trisomy 18 should be considered a patient with a hopeless outlook who ought not to be subjected to invasive procedures.
    Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2024
  • Due to the high unlikelihood that in-person instruction will be allowed beyond the very limited activities ...
    Leah Asmelash, CNN, 21 Aug. 2020
  • But with the unlikelihood of no paying fans at non-conference games, compensation has plummeted.
    oregonlive, 18 Oct. 2020
  • Given the unlikelihood of that scenario, however, Miami needs a backup plan.
    Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2018

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

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