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:
The Bank of England kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75% but left open the possibility of future rises as energy prices drive inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
It wants us to stockpile canned food and drinking water, strengthen our civic resilience, and plan for the possibility of war.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The findings raise the possibility that future treatments for IBD and other gastrointestinal diseases could target specific protective pathways in selected cell types rather than suppressing the immune system broadly.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
"We will remember his extraordinary creativity, his warmth, his curiosity and the way he saw beauty and possibility everywhere," his son Adam Max said in a statement to ABC News.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
A great ball of tension—of the mad possibility of it—was rising in his chest.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
There are stories in ballet, yes, but the allure is in the fluid possibilities of the human body and the expression therein.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
During his summing up, the coroner Mr Justice Rooney ruled out several possibilities, including drugs, foul play, suicide, or a psychotic experience.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
On the other end is the black swan — you do not know the possibilities or the probabilities.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
"I will therefore, even if tonight's result stands, examine whether there are any possibilities within this non-socialist parliamentary majority to find some workable government constellation," Kristersson told his supporters on election night.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
He’d been sitting across from me in the kitchen that morning, eating Chocolate Buzz Krispies and listening to Mama and Aunt Goldie talk about possibilities.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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.
