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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

unlike.

Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance; unalike.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ʌnˈlaɪk/
  1. Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance; unalike.

    The brothers are quite unlike each other.
  2. Unequal.

    They contributed in unlike amounts.
  3. Not likely; improbable; unlikely.

    archaic
Where this word comes from

From Middle English unlic, unlich, from Old English unlīċ, unġelīċ (“unlike, different, dissimilar, diverse”), from Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz. By surface analysis, un- + like. Cognate with Dutch ongelijk, German ungleich, Old Norse úlíkr (see there for North Germanic descendants).

prep/ʌnˈlaɪk/
  1. Different from; not in a like or similar manner.

    The disgust I felt after watching last weekend's horror movie was unlike anything I had felt before.
  2. In contrast with; as opposed to.

    Claudia hardly ever drinks beer or wine, unlike Phillip, for whom the bar is practically a second home.
  3. Not typical of one's character or personality.

    Being late is unlike him.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English unlic, unlich, from Old English unlīċ, unġelīċ (“unlike, different, dissimilar, diverse”), from Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz. By surface analysis, un- + like. Cognate with Dutch ongelijk, German ungleich, Old Norse úlíkr (see there for North Germanic descendants).

noun/ʌnˈlaɪk/
  1. Something that is not like something else; something different.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English unlic, unlich, from Old English unlīċ, unġelīċ (“unlike, different, dissimilar, diverse”), from Proto-Germanic *ungalīkaz. By surface analysis, un- + like. Cognate with Dutch ongelijk, German ungleich, Old Norse úlíkr (see there for North Germanic descendants).

verb/ʌnˈlaɪk/
  1. To dislike.

  2. To cancel a "like" action.

    I unliked the post after I found out the author was racist.
  3. To cancel a "like" action. To withdraw support or enjoyment for.

    broadly
Where this word comes from

From Middle English unliken, unlyken, equivalent to un- + like.

noun/ʌnˈlaɪk/
  1. The act of withdrawing one's like from a post on social media.

    Internet
Where this word comes from

From Middle English unliken, unlyken, equivalent to un- + like.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.