impossible

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adjective im·pos·si·ble \(ˌ)im-ˈpä-sə-bəl\

Definition of impossible

1a : incapable of being or of occurringb : felt to be incapable of being done, attained, or fulfilled : insuperably difficult an impossible deadline
2a : extremely undesirable : unacceptableb : extremely awkward or difficult to deal with the actor was impossible on the set

impossibleness

noun

See impossible defined for English-language learners

See impossible defined for kids

Examples of impossible in a Sentence

It's impossible to predict the future.
The heavy rain made it impossible to see the road.
It's physically impossible for a child to lift that much at once.
It's virtually impossible to book a flight just before the holiday.
These math problems are impossible!
You refuse to help and then criticize me for not doing it right? You're impossible!
My boss is just an impossible woman.

Recent Examples of impossible from the Web

Sprinters, despite what the rules say about maintaining a straight line in the last portion of a sprint, understand that such a thing is impossible.

— kevin williams, chicagotribune.com, "Did officials make the right call in DQing Peter Sagan? A racing cyclist weighs in", 5 July 2017
Of course, quitting CO2 cold turkey is pretty much impossible.

— avery thompson, Popular Mechanics, "We've Only Got Three Years to Start Fixing the Climate", 29 June 2017
The stigma and suspicion can follow a young woman for years, preventing her from going to school, getting married or even opening a business in a small village, where secrets are impossible to keep.

— TIME.com, "Boko Haram’s Other Victims", 27 June 2017
And were playing them at home, in the jungle and the jungle was almost impossible for anybody that year to come in and beat us.

— jim owczarski, Cincinnati.com, "Bengals 50: Pete Rozelle, and an oral history of the 1988-89 no no-huddle saga", 26 June 2017
Hackers would then be faced with the impossible task of attacking most of the voting places in the country to change the results of an election.

— Scientific American, "Readers Respond to the February and March 2017 Issues", 26 June 2017
Uber seemed like a taxi service, but until this week, tipping in the app was nearly impossible.

— todd c. frankel, hamza shaban, Alaska Dispatch News, "The world of tipping has never been stranger", 23 June 2017
The basic tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God and that, without that belief, salvation is impossible.

— john kass, chicagotribune.com, "Bernie Sanders, the Left, Christianity and the Constitution", 21 June 2017
That wouldn’t be a big deal apart from the fact that owning land in some of Aman’s more far-flung locales, like a private island in the Philippines, is virtually impossible other-wise.

— whitney robinson, Town & Country, "The Aman Grand Tour of Asia", 20 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impossible'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of impossible

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin impossibilis, from in- + possibilis possible

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

IMPOSSIBLE Defined for English Language Learners

impossible

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adjective

Definition of impossible for English Language Learners

: unable to be done or to happen : not possible
: very difficult
of a person : very difficult to deal with : very irritating or annoying

IMPOSSIBLE Defined for Kids

impossible

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adjective im·pos·si·ble \im-ˈpä-sə-bəl\

Definition of impossible for Students

1 : incapable of being or of occurring : not possible The noise makes it impossible to concentrate.
2 : very difficult These math problems are impossible!
3 : very bad or unpleasant She is impossible to deal with.