improbably

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪmˈprɑbəbli/ UK /ɪmˈprɒbəbli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a way that is unlikely or hard to believe

The tiny shop improbably stocked exactly the rare part he needed.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a way that is unlikely... implausiblyunbelievably incredibly unexpectedly

Opposites

probably likely

Word family

Related forms improbable improbability probable

Etymology

From improbable (from Latin improbabilis, from in- 'not' + probabilis 'provable, credible', from probare 'to prove') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

probabilis Latin probare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

# improbably

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ɪmˈprɑbəbli
**IPA (UK):** ɪmˈprɒbəbli

## Meanings
1. in a way that is unlikely or hard to believe

## Examples
- The tiny shop improbably stocked exactly the rare part he needed.

## Synonyms
- implausibly
- unbelievably
- incredibly
- unexpectedly

## Antonyms
- probably
- likely

## Related Forms
- improbable
- improbability
- probable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: probabilis
- Root: probare

## Etymology
From improbable (from Latin improbabilis, from in- 'not' + probabilis 'provable, credible', from probare 'to prove') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

## AI Etymology
improbably comes from improbable (from Latin improbabilis, from in- 'not' + probabilis 'provable, credible', from probare 'to prove') + the adverbial suffix -ly. Morphologically, the ending is part of the etymology: the suffix is attached to the older base named in the history, producing a later English derivative. In present English, the adverb sense is "in a way that is unlikely or hard to believe", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as improbable, improbability, and probable. Its semantic neighborhood includes implausibly, unbelievably, incredibly, and unexpectedly, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin probabilis and Latin probare.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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