Meaning & use
impossible
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not able to happen, be done, or exist in any way.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: an impossible task, it is impossible.
Patterns
- it is impossible to do something
- impossible for someone to do something
- an impossible task
It is impossible to be in two places at once.
Without a key, getting into the room was impossible.
The fog made driving nearly impossible.
adjectivecomparableinformal
Extremely hard to deal with, or so unreasonable that it cannot be accepted.
Grammar: Informal, used for people or situations: an impossible customer.
Patterns
- an impossible person
- an impossible situation
The twins were impossible at bedtime.
He put her in an impossible position by asking for the money.
Her impossible demands drove the team away.
Common combinations
- virtually impossible
- It is virtually impossible to book a table tonight.
- next to impossible
- Finding parking was next to impossible.
- seem impossible
- The deadline seemed impossible at first.
- make it impossible
- The storm made it impossible to leave.
- impossible task
- Sorting all the files in a day was an impossible task.
- mission impossible
- Cleaning the whole house before noon felt like mission impossible.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unfeasible
- Unfeasible is more formal and usually describes plans that cannot practically be carried out, not things that cannot exist.
- unthinkable
- Unthinkable means too shocking or extreme to consider, not necessarily unable to happen.
- out of the question
- Out of the question is a phrase meaning not allowed or not possible, and is usually about decisions.
- hopeless
- Hopeless means there is no chance of success, but it can also describe a person lacking skill.
Opposites
Word family
- impossibility noun
- the quality of being impossible, or something impossible
- impossibly adverb
- to an extreme degree
- possible adjective
- able to happen or be done
- possibility noun
- a chance that something may happen
Commonly confused: impossible or improbable?
impossible vs improbable
Improbable means unlikely but still able to happen, whereas impossible means it cannot happen.
Practice
Which word fits: 'It's ___ to finish a marathon in ten minutes.'
Choose one answer.
Finishing a marathon in ten minutes cannot happen, so impossible fits. Unlikely would suggest a small chance, and the other two are the wrong forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “impossible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.