unlike
/ʌnˈlaɪk/adjective, preposition, noun, verb
unlike is spelled U-N-L-I-K-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unlike means “Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance; unalike” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unlike?
| Letters | 6: U-N-L-I-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 37 times per million words; the 2,618th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unlike?
Unlike appears 37 times per million words in written English, the 2,618th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unlike?
- /ʌnˈlaɪk/
Unlike has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-unlike.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unlike
- more unlike comparative
- most unlike superlative
- unlikes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- unliking participle, present
- unliked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unlike mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not like; dissimilar (to); having no resemblance; unalike.
The brothers are quite unlike each other.
- 2
Unequal.
They contributed in unlike amounts.
- 3
archaicNot likely; improbable; unlikely.
preposition
- 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.
noun
- 1
Something that is not like something else; something different.
- 2
The act of withdrawing one's like from a post on social media.
verb
- 1
To dislike.
- 2
To cancel a "like" action.
I unliked the post after I found out the author was racist.
- 3
To withdraw support or enjoyment for.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unlike in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | différent de , différemment de , à la difference de, contrairement à |
| German | unähnlich , anders als , im Gegensatz zu, im Unterschied zu, zum Unterschied von , jemandem nicht ähnlichsehen |
| Spanish | diferente, desemejante , a diferencia de |
| Portuguese | descurtir, dar dislike |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unlike come 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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).