impossibility

noun

im·​pos·​si·​bil·​i·​ty (ˌ)im-ˌpä-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

1

: the quality or state of being impossible

2

: something impossible

Examples of impossibility in a Sentence

The blizzard made travel an impossibility.

the impossibility of knowing what the future will bring

Recent Examples on the Web

Ron Kass, who led the Beatles’ Apple label, describes the impossibility of running a business with Lennon and McCartney as the bosses. —Ben Sisario, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024

Female writers pointed out the near impossibility of wearing such sheer clothes anywhere but a runway. —Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 8 Mar. 2024

There were the anxiety attacks, the way work preempted his private life, the impossibility of impressing his father. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 26 Mar. 2024

The Verge reports on a video demo in which Instagram engineering director Peter Cottle shows off the mechanism through which a Threads user could enable fediverse sharing of their posts and explains risks like the impossibility of deleting a post on other fediverse platforms. —David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024

But momentum died quickly after Richard Nixon vetoed that legislation, and the coalition supporting it splintered, perhaps leading some people to conclude that an ambitious child-care overhaul was a political impossibility. —Elliot Haspel, The Atlantic, 20 Mar. 2024

The anomaly of sending so much water downstream while warning municipal and agricultural users of low allocations frames the ever-increasing difficulty – bordering on impossibility — of water management in an era of climatic volatility. —Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024

And perhaps impossibility is as good a place as any to live out the remainder of my days. —Melanie McCabe, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024

In what realm, then, is that possibility or that impossibility operating? —Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, 30 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

impossibility

noun

im·​pos·​si·​bil·​i·​ty (ˌ)im-ˌpäs-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

plural impossibilities

1

: the quality or state of being impossible

2

: something impossible

Legal Definition

impossibility

noun

im·​pos·​si·​bil·​i·​ty

plural impossibilities

1

: the quality or state of being impossible

also : the affirmative defense that something (as performance) is impossible

2

: something impossible

3

: impossibility of performance in this entry

— factual impossibility

: impossibility based on factual circumstances

specifically : a partial defense to criminal liability based on the incompletion of an intended criminal act

Note: Factual impossibility is not a complete defense and does allow prosecution for attempt or for another inchoate offense. For example, if the defendant constructed a bomb that failed to explode, factual impossibility would be a defense against murder charges, but not attempted murder.

— impossibility of performance

: a doctrine in contract law that a party may be released from liability for breach of contract for failing to perform an obligation that is rendered impossible by uncontrollable circumstances (as death or failure of the means of delivery)

: a defense to breach of contract or a basis for release from contractual obligations because of impossibility of performance compare frustration, impracticability

— legal impossibility

: impossibility based on or with reference to a law

specifically : a complete defense to criminal liability based on the commitment of acts that are not criminal or illegal

Note: Legal impossibility is founded on the principle that an act is not a crime unless there is a law prohibiting it.