Meaning & use
distinct possibility
Last updated
Meaning
phrasecountable
something that is quite likely to happen or be true
Grammar: Countable: use 'a' or make it plural. Common after 'be' or 'consider': It is a distinct possibility.
Patterns
- be a distinct possibility
- consider something a distinct possibility
- a distinct possibility of something
- a distinct possibility that + clause
A rise in prices is a distinct possibility this winter.
The committee considered it a distinct possibility that the deadline would be missed.
There is a distinct possibility of rain later today.
Common combinations
- a distinct possibility that
- There is a distinct possibility that the event will be canceled.
- remain a distinct possibility
- A military response remains a distinct possibility.
- consider it a distinct possibility
- Experts consider it a distinct possibility that the volcano will erupt again.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strong possibility
- Very close in meaning; 'strong possibility' is more common in everyday speech, while 'distinct possibility' sounds a little more formal.
- likelihood
- Likelihood is the general chance that something will happen; 'a distinct possibility' points to one specific possible event.
Opposites
Word family
- distinctly adverb
- in a clear and noticeable way
- possible adjective
- able to happen or be true
- possibly adverb
- perhaps; used to say something may be true
Commonly confused: distinct possibility or distinctive?
distinct possibility vs distinctive
Distinctive means easy to recognize because it is different. Distinct in this phrase means clear and definite, not 'easy to recognize'.
Practice
There is a ______ that the company will move its headquarters abroad.
Choose one answer.
'A distinct possibility' means a real, likely chance, which fits the sentence. 'Distinctive possibility' is not a natural phrase. 'A distant possibility' means a very unlikely chance, which changes the meaning. 'Distinctly' is an adverb, so it cannot come before the noun 'possibility'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “distinct possibility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.