impossible

[ im-pos-uh-buhl ]
See synonyms for: impossibleimpossibly on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. not possible; unable to be, exist, happen, etc.

  2. unable to be done, performed, effected, etc.: an impossible assignment.

  1. incapable of being true, as a rumor.

  2. not to be done, endured, etc., with any degree of reason or propriety: an impossible situation.

  3. utterly impracticable: an impossible plan.

  4. hopelessly unsuitable, difficult, or objectionable.

Origin of impossible

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English word from Latin word impossibilis.See im-2, possible

Other words for impossible

Other words from impossible

  • im·pos·si·ble·ness, noun
  • im·pos·si·bly, adverb

Words that may be confused with impossible

Words Nearby impossible

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use impossible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for impossible

impossible

/ (ɪmˈpɒsəbəl) /


adjective
  1. incapable of being done, undertaken, or experienced

  2. incapable of occurring or happening

  1. absurd or inconceivable; unreasonable: it's impossible to think of him as a bishop

  2. informal intolerable; outrageous: those children are impossible

Derived forms of impossible

  • impossibleness, noun
  • impossibly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012