noun
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the state or condition of being possible
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anything that is possible
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a competitor, candidate, etc, who has a moderately good chance of winning, being chosen, etc
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(often plural) a future prospect or potential
my new house has great possibilities
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of possibility
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English possibilite, from Late Latin possibilitās, from Latin possibil(is) possible + -itās -ity
Explanation
If something could realistically happen, it's a possibility. So winning the lottery is a slight possibility, but becoming king of the world is not even a remote possibility. In one sense, a possibility is an option: "One possibility is that the UFO is just a shooting star." It can also mean more of a potential: "This house might look like an abandoned shack, but it's got so much possibility!" All meanings of possibility share the sense that something is able to happen, or is possible. The Latin root is possibilis, "that can be done."
Vocabulary lists containing possibility
"LAFFF"
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President Obama's second inaugural address
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One possibility would be for the European Commission to deploy a legal instrument known as the "blocking mechanism".
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
I have not met a man while walking down Main Street, although I remain open to the possibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
One possibility involves the body's mechanisms for regulating vitamin D. When concentrations of vitamin D metabolites rise, the body may accelerate the breakdown and removal of these compounds to keep levels under control.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
If Mr. Lustig’s analysis of French public finance is correct, this possibility of Social Security reform is an important stabilizer in America’s own debt market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Now that her commute has increased dramatically, Camille needs to talk to her boss about the possibility of working from home.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Then there’s other possibilities that also go to our lack of knowledge.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
The combination of auto-enrollment and stock donation opens up possibilities that weren’t previously imaginable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
"We now have to go back and think about the magnetic interactions of this material from scratch, but it also leads to new possibilities in using this material for new kinds of memory devices."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Chronovisor,” a pleasurably hand-crafted curio, firmly asserts that the sensorial possibilities of film can seem infinite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
One thing I’d learned from Arletta was that a true crafter didn’t just see what was in front of them; they saw possibilities.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
