impossible

[ im-pos-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. not possible; unable to be, exist, happen, etc.
2. unable to be done, performed, effected, etc.:

   an impossible assignment.

3. incapable of being true, as a rumor.
4. not to be done, endured, etc., with any degree of reason or propriety:

   an impossible situation.

5. utterly impracticable:

   an impossible plan.

6. hopelessly unsuitable, difficult, or objectionable.

   Synonyms: unmanageable, intolerable, unbearable

impossible

/ ɪmˈpɒsəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being done, undertaken, or experienced
2. incapable of occurring or happening
3. absurd or inconceivable; unreasonable

   it's impossible to think of him as a bishop

4. informal.
   intolerable; outrageous

   those children are impossible

Derived Forms

• imˈpossibly, adverb
• imˈpossibleness, noun

Other Words From

• im·possi·ble·ness noun
• im·possi·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impossible¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English word from Latin word impossibilis. See im- ², possible

Example Sentences

“I kind of taught myself to get used to it and ignore it, but the week of the election it became utterly impossible to just ignore it.”

From Los Angeles Times

As a career journalist, it will always be impossible for me to reckon with this.

From Salon

Brown’s survival and willingness to talk to law enforcement helped ensure the case was impossible to ignore, Gyamfi said.

From Los Angeles Times

It is impossible to think any of those players would not want to have completed such important games.

From BBC

They’re going for a kind of holiday-themed “Mission: Impossible” or “Jason Bourne” vibe, which is lightly amusing for all of five minutes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absurd
• futile
• hopeless
• impassable
• impractical
• inaccessible
• inconceivable
• insurmountable
• preposterous
• unattainable
• unimaginable
• unreasonable
• unthinkable
• unworkable
• useless