impossible

[im-pos-uh-buhl]

adjective

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

2. unable to be done, performed, effected, etc..

   an impossible assignment.

3. incapable of being true, as a rumor.

4. not to be done, endured, etc., with any degree of reason or propriety.

   an impossible situation.

5. utterly impracticable.

   an impossible plan.

6. hopelessly unsuitable, difficult, or objectionable.

   Synonyms: unmanageable, intolerable, unbearable

impossible

/ ɪmˈpɒsəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being done, undertaken, or experienced

2. incapable of occurring or happening

3. absurd or inconceivable; unreasonable

   it's impossible to think of him as a bishop

4. informal,  intolerable; outrageous

   those children are impossible

Other Word Forms

• impossibleness noun
• impossibly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impossible¹

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

Example Sentences

Deaths at theme parks are rare, but not impossible, and Speigel pointed to the passing of a 32-year-old man last month aboard a roller coaster at Universal Studios Epic Universe in Orlando.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Imagine a constant flow of videos as addictive and viral as those on TikTok, but it’s often impossible to tell which are real.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Its ultimate aim is to make it impossible for today's 15-year-olds and younger to ever legally buy tobacco products.

Read more on BBC

Ensemble brio, thrillingly in evidence in the live-stream presentation of the New York production, is still the hallmark of a play that sees community as the only reliable answer to impossible times.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But she warned that immigration levels were too high, adding that "If people come in too quickly, it's impossible to integrate".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• absurd 
• futile 
• hopeless 
• impassable 
• impractical 
• inaccessible 
• inconceivable 
• insurmountable 
• preposterous 
• unattainable 
• unimaginable 
• unreasonable 
• unthinkable 
• unworkable 
• useless