improbability

[im-prob-uh-bil-i-tee, im-prob-]

See more synonyms for improbability on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural im·prob·a·bil·i·ties for 2.

the quality or condition of being improbable; unlikelihood.
something improbable or unlikely.

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Origin of improbability

First recorded in 1590–1600; improbable + -ity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

doubtfulness, uncertainty, impossibility, rarity, implausibility

Examples from the Web for improbability

Contemporary Examples

Besides, the Dalai Lama had already laughed about its improbability.
From Fashion Player to Photographer Monk
Nina Strochlic
December 3, 2014
Improbability of this sort is the stuff that makes for reasonable doubt.
The DSK Rush to Judgment
Gerald L. Shargel
July 1, 2011

Historical Examples

I laughed with him at the improbability of such things befalling.
The Suitors of Yvonne
Raphael Sabatini
Improbability is not a scientific notion; it varies with the individual.
Introduction to the Study of History
Charles V. Langlois
And life not being a fairy-tale the improbability of the event almost shocked me.
'Twixt Land & Sea
Joseph Conrad
But I will not rest either on improbability, or argument, or even denial.
An Essay on Professional Ethics
George Sharswood
Brown had refused his consent on the ground of improbability.
Novel Notes
Jerome K. Jerome

Word Origin and History for improbability

n.

1590s, "fact or quality of being improbably;" see improbable + -ity. Meaning "an instance of something improbable" is from 1610s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper