impossible

Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

im·pos·si·ble

(ĭm-pŏs′ə-bəl)

adj.

1. Incapable of having existence or of occurring.

2. Not capable of being accomplished: an impossible goal.

3. Unacceptable; intolerable: impossible behavior.

4. Extremely difficult to deal with or tolerate: an impossible child; an impossible situation.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin impossibilis : in-, not; see in-¹ + possibilis, possible; see possible.]

im·pos′si·bly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

impossible

(ɪmˈpɒsəbəl)

adj

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.

imˈpossibleness n

imˈpossibly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

im•pos•si•ble

(ɪmˈpɒs ə bəl)

adj.

1. not possible; incapable of being or happening.

2. unable to be performed or effected: an impossible assignment.

3. difficult beyond reason or propriety: an impossible situation.

4. utterly impracticable: an impossible plan.

5. hopelessly unsuitable, undesirable, or objectionable: an impossible person.

[1250–1300; Middle English < Latin]

im•pos′si•ble•ness, n.

im•pos′si•bly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	impossible - something that cannot be done; "his assignment verged on the impossible" impossible action, impossibility - an alternative that is not available
Adj.	1.	impossible - not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with; "an impossible dream"; "an impossible situation" hopeless - without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success; "in an agony of hopeless grief"; "with a hopeless sigh he sat down" impractical - not practical; not workable or not given to practical matters; "refloating the ship proved impractical because of the expense"; "he is intelligent but too impractical for commercial work"; "an impractical solution" unrealistic - not realistic; "unrealistic expectations"; "prices at unrealistic high levels" insurmountable, unsurmountable - not capable of being surmounted or overcome; "insurmountable disadvantages" unthinkable - incapable of being conceived or considered possible - capable of happening or existing; "a breakthrough may be possible next year"; "anything is possible"; "warned of possible consequences"
	2.	impossible - totally unlikely inconceivable, out of the question, unimaginable unthinkable - incapable of being conceived or considered
	3.	impossible - used of persons or their behavior; "impossible behavior"; "insufferable insolence" insufferable, unsufferable, unacceptable intolerable, unbearable, unendurable - incapable of being put up with; "an intolerable degree of sentimentality"

impossible

adjective

1. not possible, out of the question, impracticable, unfeasible, beyond the bounds of possibility It was impossible to get in because no one knew the password.

2. unachievable, hopeless, out of the question, vain, unthinkable, inconceivable, far-fetched, unworkable, implausible, unattainable, unobtainable, beyond you, not to be thought of You shouldn't promise what's impossible.
unachievable possible, likely, reasonable, plausible, conceivable, imaginable

3. absurd, crazy (informal), ridiculous, unacceptable, outrageous, ludicrous, unreasonable, unsuitable, intolerable, preposterous, laughable, farcical, illogical, insoluble, unanswerable, inadmissible, ungovernable The Government was now in an impossible situation.

4. intolerable, unbearable, insufferable, painful, insupportable, unendurable, excruciating, beyond bearing, not to be borne This woman is impossible, she thought.

Quotations
"It is only the impossible that is possible for God. He has given over the possible to the mechanics of matter and the autonomy of his creatures" [Simone Weil A War of Religions]
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast" [Lewis Carroll Through the Looking-Glass]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

impossible

adjective

1. Not capable of happening or being done:

impracticable, impractical, unattainable, unrealizable, unthinkable, unworkable.

Idiom: out of the question.

2. So unpleasant or painful as not to be endured or tolerated:

insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unbearable, unendurable, unsufferable, unsupportable.

3. Given to acting in opposition to others:

balky, contrarious, contrary, difficult, froward, ornery, perverse, wayward.

Translations

غَيْر مُمْكِن، مُسْتَحيللا يُطاقمستحيلمُسْتَحِيلٌ

nemožnýnesnesitelný

umulig

unmöglich ausgeschlossen

αδύνατος ανέφικτος

imposible insoportable

mahdotonkamalakauhea

impossible insupportable

nemogućnepodnošljivneizdrživ

lehetetlen

ómögulegurómögulegur, ógerleguróòolandi

impossibile insopportabile impossibilit...

不可能な

불가능한

neįmanomaineįmanomasneįmanomas dalykasnepakenčiamas

neciešamsneiespējamsnepanesams

imposibil

nemogoč

omöjlig

ที่เป็นไปไม่ได้

çekilmezimkansız imkânsızolanaksıztahammül edilemez

không thể

不可能的非常讨厌的

impossible

[ɪmˈpɒsəbl]

A. ADJ

1. (= not possible) [task, dream] → imposible
impossible! → ¡imposible!, ¡no es posible!
it's almost impossible to read her writing → leer su letra es casi imposible, es casi imposible leer su letra
this cooker is impossible to clean! → ¡esta cocina es imposible de limpiar!, ¡limpiar esta cocina es imposible!
the fog made it impossible to see very far → la niebla impedía ver a mucha distancia
it is impossible for me to leave now → me es imposible salir ahora
it's not impossible that → existe la posibilidad de que ...
to be physically impossible → ser físicamente imposible EASY, DIFFICULT, IMPOSSIBLE

2. (= not tolerable) [person] → insufrible, insoportable; [situation] → insostenible
to be in an impossible position → hallarse en una situación insostenible
you're impossible! → ¡eres insufrible or insoportable!

B. N
the impossible → lo imposible
to ask for/do the impossible → pedir/hacer lo imposible

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

impossible

[ɪmˈpɒsəb^əl]

adj

[task, demand, enterprise] → impossible
She makes impossible demands of her employees → Elle a des exigences impossibles envers ses employés.
sth is impossible to ...
These feelings are impossible to ignore → Ce sont des sentiments qu'il est impossible d'ignorer.
it is impossible to ...
It is impossible to understand what's going on → Il est impossible de comprendre ce qui se passe.
it is impossible for sb to do sth
It is impossible for me to leave → Il m'est impossible de partir.
It's impossible for me to leave now → Il m'est impossible de partir maintenant.

(= very difficult) [situation, position] → impossible

[person] (= unreasonable) → impossible

n
the impossible → l'impossible m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

impossible

adj

→ unmöglich; dream → unerfüllbar; impossible! → ausgeschlossen!, unmöglich!; it is impossible for him to leave/do that → er kann unmöglich gehen/das unmöglich tun; this cooker is impossible to clean → es ist unmöglich, diesen Herd sauber zu kriegen; I find it impossible to understand why she resigned → ich finde es unverständlich or unbegreiflich or ich kann nicht begreifen, warum sie gekündigt hat; to make it impossible for somebody to do something → es jdm unmöglich machen, etw zu tun

(= hopeless) situation, position → aussichtslos; I am faced with an impossible choice/decision → ich stehe vor einer unmöglichen Wahl/Entscheidung; you put me in an impossible position → du bringst mich in eine unmögliche Lage

(inf: = intolerable) person → unerträglich, unmöglich (inf); you’re impossible! → du bist unmöglich! (inf)

n → Unmögliche(s) nt; to ask for the impossible → Unmögliches verlangen; to do the impossible (in general) → Unmögliches tun; (in particular case) → das Unmögliche tun

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

impossible

[ɪmˈpɒsəbl] adj

a. (task, enterprise, situation) → impossibile
it is impossible for me to leave now → mi è impossibile andar via adesso
it is impossible/not impossible for her to do that → le è impossibile/non le è impossibile farlo
to make it impossible for sb to do sth → mettere qn nell'impossibilità di fare qc
to do the impossible → fare l'impossibile

b. (fam) (child, person, difficult, intolerable) → impossibile, insopportabile

impossible

(imˈposəbl) adjective

1. that cannot be or be done. It is impossible to sing and drink at the same time; an impossible task.

2. hopelessly bad or wrong. That child's behaviour is quite impossible.

imˈpossibly adverb

imˌpossiˈbility noun

impossible

→ مُسْتَحِيلٌ nemožný umulig unmöglich ανέφικτος imposible mahdoton impossible nemoguć impossibile 不可能な 불가능한 onmogelijk umulig niemożliwy impossível невозможный omöjlig ที่เป็นไปไม่ได้ imkansız không thể 不可能的

impossible

a. imposible.

impossible

adj imposible

References in classic literature ?

If he describes the impossible, he is guilty of an error; but the error may be justified, if the end of the art be thereby attained (the end being that already mentioned), if, that is, the effect of this or any other part of the poem is thus rendered more striking.

View in context

It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.

View in context

"You know yourself how impossible the situation is."

View in context

It is impossible to say to what violent measures her present extremity may not drive her.

View in context

"One must let you drink your coffee in peace, at least," said Matvey, in the affectionately gruff tone with which it was impossible to be angry.

View in context

Long does not come back till the day before; so it will be impossible for her to introduce him, for she will not know him herself."

View in context

But to forestall the French with his whole army was impossible. The road for the French from Vienna to Znaim was shorter and better than the road for the Russians from Krems to Znaim.

View in context

He maintained that it was absolutely impossible to impress upon any body whatever a velocity of 12,000 yards per second; that even with such a velocity a projectile of such a weight could not transcend the limits of the earth's atmosphere.

View in context

No road can be plainer than that from the place where they now were to Coventry; and though neither Jones, nor Partridge, nor the guide, had ever travelled it before, it would have been almost impossible to have missed their way, had it not been for the two reasons mentioned in the conclusion of the last chapter.

View in context

"It was impossible to do the one without the other," returned Enfield.

View in context

Whether the seamen of three hundred years hence will have the faculty of sympathy it is impossible to say.

View in context

Therefore for all persons to say the same thing was their own, using the word all in its distributive sense, would be well, but is impossible: in its collective sense it would by no means contribute to the concord of the state.