possibility

American  

[pos-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌpɒs əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

plural

possibilities

1. the state or fact of being possible.

   the possibility of error.

   Synonyms:

   odds, likelihood, prospect, chance

2. something possible.

   He had exhausted every possibility but one.

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possibility British  

/ ˌpɒsɪˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or condition of being possible

2. anything that is possible

3. a competitor, candidate, etc, who has a moderately good chance of winning, being chosen, etc

4. (often plural) a future prospect or potential

   my new house has great possibilities

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Etymology

Origin of possibility

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English possibilite, from Late Latin possibilitās, from Latin possibil(is) possible + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

One possibility is that the signal comes from a red giant star, while another idea is that it could be a fading light echo related to the burst itself.

From Science Daily

Companies in the AI race are striving to perfect the technology, but they have not eliminated the possibility of errors such as "hallucinations" in which fabricated output is confidently presented.

From Barron's

Behind the scenes, members of Australia’s Iranian diaspora communicated with the players about the possibility of staying in Australia.

From The Wall Street Journal

The U.S. confirmed Saturday that it had struck a tiny but vital island off the coast of Iran while leaving its energy infrastructure intact, avoiding the possibility of a worsening oil crisis.

From Barron's

The U.S. confirmed Saturday that it had struck a tiny but vital island off the coast of Iran while leaving its energy infrastructure intact, avoiding the possibility of a worsening oil crisis.

From Barron's

Related Words

• action
• circumstance
• hazard
• hope
• incident
• opportunity
• probability
• prospect
• risk