possible

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin possibilis (“possible”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin posse (“to be able”); see power. Displaced Old English mihtlīċ (“possible”), which was cognate with Dutch mogelijk (“possible”) and German möglich (“possible”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɒsɪbl̩/
• IPA^(key): /ˈpɑsəbl̩/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pos‧si‧ble

Adjective

possible (comparative possibler or more possible, superlative possiblest or most possible)

1. (usually not comparable) Able but not certain to happen; neither inevitable nor impossible.

   Synonyms: futurable; see also Thesaurus:possible

   Antonyms: certain, inevitable, impossible

   Rain tomorrow is possible, but I wouldn't bet on it.

   It's not just possible, it's probable.

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:

     The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.

2. (comparable) Capable of being done or achieved; feasible.

   Synonyms: achievable, doable, viable

   Antonym: impossible

   It's possible for anyone to learn to pay the bagpipes.

   • 1901, Louis Freeland Smith, The Public, volume 4, page 438:

     And success in minor degree, in the sense in which he uses the term "success," is only somewhat more possible than success in winning the White House chair.

   • 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72-3:

     Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.

3. Being considered, e.g. for a position.

   Jones and Smith are both possible for the opening in sales.

4. Apparently valid, likely, plausible.

   Synonyms: likely, plausible

   Antonym: implausible

Derived terms

• as much as possible
• ASAP (“as soon as possible”)
• possibly

Related terms

• possibility
• potent
• potential
• probable
• improbable
• incidental
• contingent

Translations

able but not certain to happen

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: مُمْكِن (mumkin)

  Egyptian Arabic: ممكن (mumkin)

• Armenian: հնարավոր (hy) (hnaravor)
• Asturian: posible
• Belarusian: магчы́мы (mahčýmy), мажлі́вы (mažlívy)
• Bulgarian: възмо́жен (bg) (vǎzmóžen)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: possible (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可能 (zh) (kěnéng)

• Czech: možný (cs) m
• Danish: mulig (da)
• Dutch: mogelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: ebla (eo)
• Faroese: møguligur
• Fijian: rawa (fj)
• Finnish: mahdollinen (fi)
• French: possible (fr)
• Galician: posible (gl), posíbel (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: möglich (de)
• Greek: πιθανός (el) (pithanós)
• Hawaiian: please add this translation if you can
• Hebrew: אפשרי
• Hindi: संभव (hi) (sambhav), मुमकिन (hi) (mumkin)
• Hungarian: lehetséges (hu)
• Icelandic: hægur (is), mögulegur (is)
• Interlingua: possibile
• Italian: possibile (it)
• Japanese: ありうる (ariuru), 起こり得る (okoriuru)
• Kashubian: mòżlëwi
• Khmer: អាច (km) (aac)
• Korean: 가능하다 (ko) (ganeunghada)
• Latin: possibilis
• Latvian: iespējams
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Luxembourgish: méiglech
• Macedonian: можен (možen)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malagasy: haizina (mg)
• Maltese: possibbli
• Maori: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Nepali: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: possibl'ye m or f
• Old English: mihtlīċ
• Persian: ممکن (fa) (momken)
• Polish: możliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: possível (pt)
• Romanian: posibil (ro)
• Russian: возмо́жный (ru) (vozmóžnyj), вероя́тный (ru) (verojátnyj) (probable)
• Rusyn: можный (možnŷj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: mȍgūć (sh)

• Slovak: možný
• Slovene: mogoč (sl), možen (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: móžny

  Upper Sorbian: móžny

• Spanish: posible (es)
• Swedish: möjlig (sv)
• Tagalog: posible
• Tajik: мумкин (mumkin)
• Thai: เป็นไปได้
• Turkish: olası (tr), mümkün (tr)
• Ukrainian: можли́вий (možlývyj)
• Urdu: ممکن (mumkin)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: mögik (vo)
• Walloon: possibe (wa)
• Welsh: dichonadwy, posib (cy)
• Yagnobi: мумкин (mumkin)
• Yiddish: מיגלעך (miglekh), מעגלעך (meglekh)

capable of being done or achieved; feasible

• Asturian: posible
• Catalan: possible (ca)
• Danish: mulig (da)
• Dutch: mogelijk (nl), doenbaar (nl), doenlijk (nl), haalbaar (nl), te doen, overwogen (nl)
• Esperanto: ebla (eo)
• French: possible (fr), faisable (fr)
• Galician: posible (gl), posíbel (gl)
• Greek: εφικτός (el) (efiktós)
• Hungarian: lehetséges (hu), lehető (hu) (only before superlative forms)
• Icelandic: mögulegur (is)
• Interlingua: possibile
• Japanese: 可能な (ja) (かのうな, kanō na)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: iespējams, veicams
• Maori: āhei
• Novial:
• Portuguese: possível (pt)
• Russian: возмо́жный (ru) (vozmóžnyj), выполни́мый (ru) (vypolnímyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: izvòdljiv (sh), izvòdiv (sh), ostvàrljiv (sh)

• Spanish: posible (es)
• Swedish: möjlig (sv)
• Tagalog: posible
• Thai: เป็นไปได้

being considered, e.g. for a position

• Dutch: mogelijk (nl), denkbaar (nl)
• German: möglich (de)
• Greek: δυνατός (el) (dynatós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: szóba jöhető, lehetséges (hu)
• Russian: подходя́щий (ru) (podxodjáščij)
• Swedish: möjlig (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} възможно (bg) (vǎzmožno)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ebla (eo)
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} posibla (io)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} mungkin (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} possibile
• (deprecated template usage) Italian: possibile m or f (1, 2 ,3)
• Kurdish: , ,
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} möjlig (sv)

Noun

possible (plural possibles)

1. A possible one.
2. (colloquial, rare) A possible choice, notably someone being considered for a position.

   Jones is a possible for the new opening in sales.

3. (rare) A particular event that may happen.

Synonyms

• possibility
• option

Antonyms

• impossible
• no-go

Translations

a possible one

• Dutch: mogelijke (nl) n, mogelijkheid (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

a possible choice

• Dutch: mogelijke (nl) n, mogelijkheid (nl), mogelijke kandidaat m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

a particular event that may happen

• Dutch: mogelijkheid (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Further reading

• “possible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “possible”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• bespoils

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin possibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [puˈsib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [poˈsi.ble]

Adjective

possible m or f (masculine and feminine plural possibles)

1. possible

   Antonym: impossible

Derived terms

• possibilitat
• possiblement

Related terms

• impossible

Further reading

• “possible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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French

Etymology

From Latin possibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔ.sibl/

• audio:

  (file)

Adjective

possible (plural possibles)

1. possible

Related terms

• possibilité
• possiblement

Noun

possible m (plural possibles)

1. The possible, feasible, what can be done, achieved etc.

   J'ai fait mon possible pour votre fils, mais sans discipline, il ne s'efforce pas à plain.

   I've done what I can for your son, but without discipline, he won't put in full effort.

Further reading

• “possible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.