impossible

American  

[im-pos-uh-buhl] / ɪmˈpɒs ə bəl /

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

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impossible British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• impossibleness
  noun
• impossibly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of impossible

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

Explanation

Something that's impossible can't be done. If you want to stop eating donuts but you just can't, you might say it's impossible. If it's impossible, it cannot happen, or it doesn't exist. You might wish you could bring Abraham Lincoln back to life for a day so he could come to tea, but that's impossible. People use the word impossible to mean "out of reach" or "too hard to achieve." A terrible situation can be impossible, and so can a person who refuses to compromise or seems intent on making things difficult for everyone else.

Example Sentences

The “Satyagraha” and “Akhnaten” revivals have been the designed-to-dazzle inventions of quirky director Phelim McDermott, a co-founder of Impossible, an eccentric British theater company.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026

Beyond that looms pension reform, the Mission Impossible for all democratic governments.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

McGuinness will remain on the company’s board, Impossible Foods said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

Cruise spent the first two decades of his career stretching himself artistically, never making a sequel until 2000’s “Mission: Impossible II.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

Impossible to tell whether or not he meant it.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

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