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
nounPeople Are Reading
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
-
The advances that Iran made in its nuclear program under the Obama administration will be extremely difficult — perhaps impossible — to roll back.
-
Haut said that is much less likely but not impossible.
-
But with a seemingly impossible needle to thread through his own caucus, McConnell might have hit a permanent roadblock on his dream to demolish the Affordable Care Act.
-
Haut said that is much less likely but not impossible.
-
Without the ability to negotiate across many issues simultaneously we would be left with single issue, bilateral discussions where zero sum results make compromise impossible.
-
Video streaming and other high-bandwidth entertainment is often impossible.
-
Well, nobody gave it a second thought because the idea of a ball hitting the roof was thought to be impossible.
-
One group of researchers is working to turn the impossible possible, by using machine learning.
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
IMPOSSIBLE Defined for English Language Learners
impossible
playDefinition 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
playDefinition 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.
impossibly
\-blē\ adverbLaw Dictionary
impossible
Legal Definition of impossible
: not possible : incapable of being done, attained, or fulfilled a party's performance is impossible in part
Learn More about impossible
-
See words that rhyme with impossible Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for impossible Spanish Central: Translation of impossible Nglish: Translation of impossible for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of impossible for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up impossible? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!