improbability
Americannoun
-
the quality or condition of being improbable; unlikelihood.
-
something improbable or unlikely.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of improbability
First recorded in 1590–1600; improbable + -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One posits the existence of billions of universes, arguing that happenstance alone accounts for the improbability of our inhabiting this one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
"The inherent improbability that such a large number of journalists would do that should be borne in mind," White argued.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
I wish I could tell you I respected the improbability of the windfall by immediately retreating to my suite.
From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025
Such improbability is what propelled the Club 27 myth to prominence, and subsequent deaths — especially Kurt Cobain’s passing — continue to fuel its mystique, Dunivin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2024
Computers cannot deal with such levels of improbability, and it is just as well.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
The thing is that, despite all the narrative improbabilities and a regular defiance of physics, Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer are so distractingly funny and charming that a viewer goes along for the ride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Ultimately, however, no director can hide all the improbabilities in the libretto.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
For the armchair judge, it is not so much a matter of who you believe — there being improbabilities and weirdnesses in both the prosecution and defense — as who you don’t.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2022
Until then, “A Comedy of Tenors” is the kind of farce that grunts and groans as it gets its improbabilities off the ground.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2019
In some contexts, improbabilities are to be expected.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
