WordGarden.ioimprobability
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɪmprˌɒbəbˈɪlɪti/
US
- /ɪmˌprɑb.əˈbɪl.ə.ti/countableuncountablenoun
Meanings
Noun
the quality of being unlikely to happen or be true
something unlikely or hard to believe
Beyond the definition
Improbability doesn't mean something won't happen, just that it's not very likely. Think of winning the lottery: it's possible, but the chance is very low. It describes events with only a small chance of happening. You might use it when talking about a surprising series of lucky coincidences.
The word often comes up in science and statistics when people discuss odds and predictions. A meteor hitting your house? Very unlikely. Finding a four-leaf clover? Also unlikely, but more possible than the meteor. It is about judging how likely something really is.
Improbability refers to the state of being unlikely to happen. It does not mean impossibility, only a very small chance. Something with a high degree of improbability could still happen, but you would not normally expect it to.
The idea is central to fields like statistics and probability theory, where people calculate the likelihood of events. But you do not need to be a mathematician to understand it. You meet it in everyday life whenever you weigh risks or think about possible outcomes. For example, someone might talk about the improbability of winning a huge prize or surviving a terrible accident.
It can also describe situations that seem full of coincidence or far from what people expect. A detective might question an unlikely alibi that seems too neat to be true. A writer might build a story around a surprising twist of fate that feels almost too strange to believe.
Sometimes the word carries a sense of wonder or disbelief. If shipwrecked sailors survive against all odds, people may speak of the improbability of their survival. In that kind of sentence, the word highlights how remarkable and unexpected the event feels.
So, the word points to something that is not impossible, but is rare, unlikely, and surprising when it does happen. It helps describe the gap between what could happen and what people realistically expect.
Examples
- 1
Chance meeting
She laughed at the improbability of meeting her old neighbor on a train in Japan.
- 2
Concealment plan
The whole plan relied on the improbability of anyone noticing the missing file.
- 3
Statistical result
Despite its statistical improbability, the result was still possible.
- 4
Movie criticism
Critics said the movie asked the audience to accept one improbability after another.
- Phraseaccept one improbability after another
keep believing a series of unlikely events in a story
See also
Similar
- unlikelihood
- implausibility
Shades of meaning
- doubtfulness
- far-fetchedness
Contrast
Do not confuse
Used with (collocations)
- the improbability of
- statistical improbability
- sheer improbability
Word family
Explore
- chance
- odds
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- improbabilitynoun
Forms
- improbabilitiespluralnoun