# unlike

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ʌnˈlaɪk/ · frequency rank #2,652

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

## Etymology
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).

## Easily confused with
- **unwise** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unlike-vs-unwise)
- **unlikely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unlike-vs-unlikely)
- **unite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/unite-vs-unlike)

## Common misspellings (8)
`nulike`, `ulnike`, `unilke`, `unliek`, `unlikke`, `unlkie`, `unllike`, `unnlike`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/unlike