different between improbable vs preposterous

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French improbable, from im- +? probable.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?p??b?bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?p??b?bl?/
• Hyphenation: im?prob?a?ble

Adjective

improbable (comparative more improbable, superlative most improbable)

1. Not likely to be true.

2. Not likely to happen.

Antonyms

• probable

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• impossible

Catalan

Adjective

improbable (masculine and feminine plural improbables)

1. improbable, unlikely

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

• improbablement

Related terms

• improbabilitat

Further reading

• “improbable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “improbable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “improbable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “improbable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From im- +? probable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p??.babl/

Adjective

improbable (plural improbables)

1. unlikely, improbable (not likely)

   Synonym: peu probable

Further reading

• “improbable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Alternative forms

• improbábel

Adjective

improbable m or f (plural improbables)

1. improbable (not likely to happen)

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

• improbabilidade

Further reading

• “improbable” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Spanish

Adjective

improbable (plural improbables)

1. improbable, unlikely

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

Further reading

• “improbable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Alternative forms

• præposterous (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin praeposterus (“with the hinder part before, reversed, inverted, perverted”), from prae (“before”) + posterus (“coming after”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p???p?st???s/, /p???p?st??s/, /p??-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /p???p?st???s/, /p???p?st??s/

Adjective

preposterous (comparative more preposterous, superlative most preposterous)

1. Absurd, or contrary to common sense.
   • 2016 January 30, "America deserves more from presidential hopefuls," The National (retrieved 31 January 2016):

     Democrats, too, must be criticised. While they have not made preposterous statements or been threatening or demagogic, they, all too often, have come up short, failing to propose new ideas that can help unwind conflicts raging across the Middle East.

Synonyms

• absurd
• foolish
• irrational
• nonsensical
• See also Thesaurus:absurd

Translations

See also

• topsy-turvy
• upside down

Further reading

• preposterous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• preposterous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.