unlike

English Online Dictionary. What means unlike‎? What does unlike mean?

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈlaɪk/
• Rhymes: -aɪk

Etymology 1

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).

Adjective

unlike (comparative more unlike, superlative most unlike)

1. Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance.
2. Unequal.
3. (archaic) Not likely; improbable; unlikely.

Synonyms

• (not like): See also Thesaurus:different

Translations

Preposition

unlike

1. Differently from; not in a like or similar manner.
2. In contrast with; as opposed to.
3. Not typical of one's character or personality.

Translations

Noun

unlike (plural unlikes)

1. Something that is not like something else; something different.
   • 2012, J. Bogen, J. E. McGuire, How Things Are: Studies in Predication and the History of Philosophy and Science

     If the beings are many, then they must be likes and unlikes. But this is impossible, for unlikes cannot be likes, and likes cannot be unlikes.

Etymology 2

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

Verb

unlike (third-person singular simple present unlikes, present participle unliking, simple past and past participle unliked)

1. To dislike.
2. (Internet) To withdraw support for a particular thing, especially on social networking websites.
   • 2009, Ben Zimmer, “On Language: The Age of Undoing”, in The New York Times Magazine, 2009 September 20, page MM8:

     Facebook, for instance, allows you to register approval for a posted message in a very concrete way, by clicking a thumbs-up like button. Toggling off the button results in unliking your previously liked item. Note that this is different from disliking something, since unliking simply returns you to a neutral state.

Noun

unlike (plural unlikes)

1. (Internet) The act of withdrawing one's like from a post on social media.

Anagrams

• ukelin