unlikeable
Definition
Adjective 1. Difficult or impossible to like; not pleasant or agreeable. This describes a person, their personality, or behavior that causes others to feel dislike or aversion. 2. (Of a character in literature or drama) Tending to evoke antipathetic feelings. This is a more specific, literary use describing a character crafted to be unsympathetic or disliked by the audience.
Examples
General Use:
- His constant complaining made him an unlikeable colleague.
- She found the protagonist's arrogance to be thoroughly unlikeable.
- Despite his talent, the athlete's unlikeable attitude lost him many fans.
Literary/Dramatic Use:
- The author deliberately created an unlikeable villain to highlight the hero's virtues.
- In modern drama, unlikeable characters are often used to explore complex moral questions.
Advanced Usage
- The term often implies a judgment based on personality traits (e.g., rudeness, selfishness) rather than physical appearance.
- It can be used in formal criticism (e.g., film, book reviews) and informal conversation.
Variants and Related Words
- Unlikeability (noun): The quality of being unlikeable.
- The character's central flaw was his profound unlikeability.
- Unlikable (adjective): An alternative spelling. Both "unlikeable" and "unlikable" are correct.
- Dislikable (adjective): A less common synonym with the same meaning.
Synonyms
- Disagreeable
- Unpleasant
- Obnoxious
- Repellent
- Unsympathetic (specific to character portrayal)
Antonyms
- Likeable (or Likable)
- Pleasant
- Agreeable
- Charming
- Sympathetic (specific to character portrayal)
Related Phrases/Idioms
- Hard to take: (Informal) Similar in meaning to unlikeable in the context of someone's behavior.
- His know-it-all attitude is hard to take.
- Rub someone the wrong way: To irritate or annoy someone, often making you seem unlikeable to them.
- His blunt manner really rubs people the wrong way.
Adjective
- difficult or impossible to like
- a disagreeable and unlikable old woman
- (of characters in literature or drama) tending to evoke antipathetic feelings
- all the characters were peculiarly unsympathetic
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