Meaning & use
unlikeable person
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
Someone who is difficult to like or who does not attract friendly feelings from others.
Grammar: Countable; plural 'unlikeable people' or 'unlikeable persons' (formal).
Patterns
- an unlikeable person
- be an unlikeable person
He can be an unlikeable person, but he is honest.
She worried that she was becoming an unlikeable person.
The novel's main character is an unlikeable person, yet you still root for him.
Word forms
| plural | unlikeable people |
|---|
Common combinations
- a thoroughly unlikeable person
- He was a thoroughly unlikeable person, rude to everyone.
- an unlikeable character
- The movie features an unlikeable character who learns to change.
- find someone unlikeable
- Many find him unlikeable at first, but he grows on you.
Synonyms and how they differ
- disagreeable
- Formal; describes someone unpleasant or bad-tempered, not just hard to like.
- obnoxious
- Stronger; means very annoying or offensive, not merely unlikeable.
- unpleasant
- Broader; can describe things or experiences, not just people.
Opposites
Word family
- likeable adjective
- Easy to like; pleasant.
- unlikeable adjective
- Not easy to like.
- likability noun
- The quality of being easy to like.
Commonly confused: unlikeable person or unlikely?
unlikeable person vs unlikely
Means 'not probable', not 'not likeable'. They look similar but have different meanings.
Practice
She is a talented writer, but her characters are so _____ that readers can't sympathize with them.
Choose one answer.
'Unlikeable' means hard to like, which fits the context of unsympathetic characters. 'Unlikely' means improbable, 'unlucky' means having bad luck, and 'unlimited' means without limits.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unlikeable person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.