impossible
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
- inpossible (obsolete)
[edit] Etymology
From French impossible, from Latin impossibilis, from in- ‘not’ + possibilis ‘possible’, from possum ‘to be able’ + suffix -ibilis ‘-able’.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
impossible (comparative more impossible, superlative most impossible)
- Not possible, not able to be done.
- Nothing is impossible, only impassible. --Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
- It is difficult, if not impossible, to memorise 20,000 consecutive numbers.
- (colloquial) Of a person, very difficult to deal with.
- You never listen to a word I say - you're impossible!
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
not possible
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very difficult to deal with
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[edit] Noun
impossible (plural impossibles)
- An impossibility.
- Late C14: “Madame,” quod he, “this were an impossible!” — Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Franklin's Tale’, Canterbury Tales
- (uncountable) (with definite article) That which seems impossible.
- If we work together, we can achieve the impossible!
[edit] Translations
an impossibility
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[edit] Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: battle · bound · York · #738: impossible · greatest · property · started
[edit] Catalan
[edit] Etymology
From Latin impossibilis, equivalent to in- + possible.
[edit] Adjective
impossible m. and f. (plural impossibles)
[edit] French
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Adjective
impossible (epicene, plural impossibles)
[edit] Middle French
[edit] Adjective
impossible m. and f. (plural impossibles)
