UNLIKE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does unlike mean? 

• UNLIKE (adjective)
  The adjective UNLIKE has 2 senses:

1. marked by dissimilarity

2. not equal in amount

  Familiarity information: UNLIKE used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNLIKE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Marked by dissimilarity

Context example:

for twins they are very unlike

Antonym:

like (resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination)

Derivation:

unlikeness (dissimilarity evidenced by an absence of likeness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Not equal in amount

Context example:

they distributed unlike (or unequal) sums to the various charities

Also:

unequal (poorly balanced or matched in quantity or value or measure)

Antonym:

like (equal in amount or value)

 Context examples 

Unlike more cosmetic markers of aging, such as wrinkles and gray hair, sleep deterioration has been linked to such conditions as Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and stroke, he said.

(Deep Sleep May Act as Fountain of Youth in Old Age, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

All the time that she was telling me this story she never once looked in my direction, and her voice was quite unlike her usual tones.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Unlike any animals he had ever encountered, they did not bite nor claw.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Unlike most other vectors, adenovirus vectors have the ability to infect post-mitotic cells.

(Adenovirus Vector, NCI Thesaurus)

Unlike roles, associations do not have a domain or range.

(NCI Thesaurus Association, NCI Thesaurus)

Unlike most anthracyclines, nemorubicin is a topoisomerase I inhibitor and appears to exert its effect through the nucleotide excision repair (NER) system.

(Nemorubicin, NCI Thesaurus)

A moment's glance was enough to satisfy Catherine that her apartment was very unlike the one which Henry had endeavoured to alarm her by the description of.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Unlike other isoforms of PI3K, the delta and gamma isoforms are overexpressed primarily in hematologic malignancies and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

(PI3K delta/gamma Inhibitor IPI-145, NCI Thesaurus)

Moreover, this region — unlike the rest of HA’s head — varies little from strain to strain.

(Human antibody reveals hidden vulnerability in influenza virus, National Institutes of Health)

Unlike other tubulin inhibitors such as the taxanes and vinca alkaloids, noscapine does not affect microtubule polymerization.

(Noscapine Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)