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:
After that, when the impossibility of recovering anyone else became clear, Al-Zaharnah and others kept hoping international organizations would convince Israel to allow more construction equipment, but to little avail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 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
It was in the impossibility of replacing what had died.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Mangione’s reasons succinctly reflect a society where consistently reliable healthcare is a virtual impossibility without millions of dollars at your disposal.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
An Alabama woman thought everybody should realize that an attack from Mars was “not only highly improbable,...but an absolute impossibility at present.”
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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
Greg had theories on how the world of speculative fiction worked, theories on how its precisely imagined impossibilities got delivered to receptive minds.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2022
Each explores forgiveness and the wages of emotional damage, and incorporates those psychological trials into stories fueled in some way by an all-consuming desire to realize one of life's impossibilities: a do-over.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2022
The physical impossibilities in no way injured faith.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
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.
