impossibility
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being impossible
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something that is impossible
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of impossibility
1350–1400; Middle English impossibilite < Late Latin impossibilitās. See im- 2, possibility
Explanation
An impossibility is something that can never, ever happen. Eating ice cream without getting a stomach ache afterward is an impossibility for people who are lactose intolerant. You might start to suspect the impossibility of finding an affordable apartment in New York once you start looking for one, or fear the impossibility that you'll ever pass your French class if you struggle with conjugating verbs. When something's impossible, it can't happen or exist, and an impossibility is impossible. Both words come from the Latin impossibilis, "not possible," from the roots im-, "not," and possibilis, "that can be done."
Vocabulary lists containing impossibility
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:
Among other things, Bakker had offered nearly 160,000 people the opportunity to reserve a room at the 500-room Heritage Grand Hotel for three nights a year for life for $1,000 — a mathematical impossibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A universal standard for immorality in art may be an impossibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
But beyond the material hardships, many describe a similar feeling: the impossibility of unplugging from their problems.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Without equal citizenship, equal voting rights, and equal opportunity to elect representatives of one’s choice, republican government was an impossibility.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
Meliagrance had counted on the impossibility of such a walk, for a man dressed in an equipment which may have weighed as much as himself—but he had not counted on the cart which Lancelot commandeered.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
She said: "I went back to work post maternity leave. It has always felt impossible. Every day has felt like an exercise in logistical impossibilities, and we got through it."
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2025
The Los Angeles Times investigation concluded that he did not, based on interviews with more than a dozen former Frito-Lay employees, company records and some glaring inconsistencies — nay, impossibilities — in his story.
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
A revival of “The Serpent” is close to impossible, but the pursuit of impossibilities can reveal new horizons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2021
Mobeen Rathore, a professor of pediatrics and the chief of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, said Centner’s claims about coronavirus vaccine “shedding” are biological impossibilities.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2021
“He wears a headlamp. Ingenious, really. I admire his creativity in the face of opposition. Entrepreneurship at its finest—there are no impossibilities, just hurdles to be overcome.”
From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen
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.
