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possible. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
possible, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
possible in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
possible you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English possible, from Old French possible, from Latin possibilis (“possible”), from posse, possum (“to be able”); see power. Displaced Middle English acumendlic (“possible”), from Old English ācumendlīċ (“possible”). Compare also Old English mihtelīċ (“strong, capable, powerful, possible”), which was cognate with Old High German mahtlīh (“possible”) and Old Norse máttulígr (“mighty, possible”). Compare also Dutch mogelijk (“possible”) and German möglich (“possible”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
possible (comparative more possible, superlative most possible)
- (usually not comparable) Able but not certain to happen; neither inevitable nor impossible.
- Synonyms: futurable; see also Thesaurus:possible
- Antonyms: certain, inevitable, impossible
Rain tomorrow is possible, but I wouldn't bet on it.
It's not just possible, it's probable that there will be rain tomorrow.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.
- (comparable) Capable of being done or achieved; feasible.
- Synonyms: achievable, doable, viable
- Antonym: impossible
It's possible for anyone to learn to play the bagpipes.
1901, Louis Freeland Smith, The Public, volume 4, page 438:And success in minor degree, in the sense in which he uses the term "success," is only somewhat more possible than success in winning the White House chair.
1993 September 10, Lee Michael Katz, “Expectant Mideast hopes to bear twin peace deals”, in USA Today, page 2A:Peace between Israel and the Arab countries is "more possible than any time before," says ex-Arab League U.N. ambassador Clovis Maskoud.
2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3:Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.
- Being considered, e.g. for a position.
Jones and Smith are both possible for the opening in sales.
- Apparently valid, likely, plausible.
- Synonyms: likely, plausible
- Antonym: implausible
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
able but not certain to happen
- Albanian: please add this translation if you can
- Arabic: مُمْكِن (mumkin)
- Egyptian Arabic: ممكن (mumkin)
- Armenian: հնարավոր (hy) (hnaravor)
- Asturian: posible
- Azerbaijani: mümkün (az)
- Belarusian: магчы́мы (mahčýmy), мажлі́вы (mažlívy)
- Bulgarian: възмо́жен (bg) (vǎzmóžen)
- Burmese: please add this translation if you can
- Carpathian Rusyn: можный (možnŷj)
- Catalan: possible (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 可能 (zh) (kěnéng)
- Czech: možný (cs) m
- Danish: mulig (da)
- Dutch: mogelijk (nl)
- Esperanto: ebla (eo)
- Estonian: võimalik (et)
- Faroese: møguligur
- Fijian: rawa (fj)
- Finnish: mahdollinen (fi)
- French: possible (fr)
- Galician: posible (gl), posíbel (gl)
- Georgian: შეიძლება (šeiʒleba)
- German: möglich (de)
- Greek: πιθανός (el) (pithanós)
- Hawaiian: hiki
- Hebrew: אפשרי
- Hindi: संभव (hi) (sambhav), मुमकिन (hi) (mumkin)
- Hungarian: lehetséges (hu)
- Icelandic: hægur (is), mögulegur (is)
- Interlingua: possibile
- Isan: please add this translation if you can
- Italian: possibile (it)
- Japanese: ありうる (ariuru), 起こり得る (okoriuru)
- Kashubian: mòżlëwi
- Khmer: អាច (km) (aac)
- Korean: 가능하다 (ko) (ganeunghada)
- Lao: please add this translation if you can
- Latin: possibilis (la)
- Latvian: iespējams
- Lithuanian: galimas (lt)
- Livonian: võidõb
- Lü: please add this translation if you can
- Luxembourgish: méiglech
- Macedonian: можен (možen)
- Malagasy: haizina (mg)
- Maltese: possibbli
- Maori: please add this translation if you can
- Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
- Nepali: सम्भव (sambhav), हुन सक्नु (hun saknu)
- Norman: possibl'ye m or f
- Northern Sami: vejolaš
- Old English: mihtlīċ
- Persian: ممکن (fa) (momken)
- Polish: możliwy (pl)
- Portuguese: possível (pt)
- Romanian: posibil (ro)
- Russian: возмо́жный (ru) (vozmóžnyj), вероя́тный (ru) (verojátnyj) (probable)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Roman: mȍgūć
- Shan: please add this translation if you can
- Slovak: možný
- Slovene: mogoč (sl), možen (sl)
- Sorbian:
- Lower Sorbian: móžny
- Upper Sorbian: móžny
- Spanish: posible (es)
- Swedish: möjlig (sv)
- Tagalog: posible (tl)
- Tajik: мумкин (mumkin)
- Thai: เป็นไปได้
- Turkish: olası (tr), mümkün (tr)
- Ukrainian: можли́вий (možlývyj)
- Urdu: ممکن (mumkin)
- Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
- Volapük: mögik (vo)
- Walloon: possibe (wa)
- Welsh: dichonadwy, posib (cy)
- Yagnobi: мумкин (mumkin)
- Yiddish: מיגלעך (miglekh), מעגלעך (meglekh)
- Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
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capable of being done or achieved; feasible
- Asturian: posible
- Azerbaijani: mümkün (az), yerinə yetirilə bilən, həyata keçirilə bilən
- Bulgarian: изпълним (bg) (izpǎlnim)
- Catalan: possible (ca)
- Danish: mulig (da)
- Dutch: mogelijk (nl), doenbaar (nl), doenlijk (nl), haalbaar (nl), te doen, overwogen (nl)
- Esperanto: ebla (eo)
- Finnish: mahdollinen (fi)
- French: possible (fr), faisable (fr)
- Galician: posible (gl), posíbel (gl)
- Greek: εφικτός (el) (efiktós)
- Hungarian: lehetséges (hu), lehető (hu) (only before superlative forms)
- Icelandic: mögulegur (is)
- Interlingua: possibile
- Irish: féideartha
- Isan: please add this translation if you can
- Japanese: 可能な (ja) (かのうな, kanō na)
- Khmer: អាចទៅរួច (ʼaac tɨw ruəc)
- Lao: please add this translation if you can
- Latvian: iespējams, veicams
- Lü: please add this translation if you can
- Maori: āhei
- Northern Sami: vejolaš
- Portuguese: possível (pt)
- Russian: возмо́жный (ru) (vozmóžnyj), выполни́мый (ru) (vypolnímyj)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Roman: izvòdljiv (sh), izvòdiv (sh), ostvàrljiv (sh)
- Shan: please add this translation if you can
- Spanish: posible (es)
- Swedish: möjlig (sv)
- Tagalog: posible (tl)
- Thai: เป็นไปได้
- Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
- Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
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being considered, e.g. for a position
Translations to be checked
Noun
possible (plural possibles)
- (colloquial, rare) A possible choice, notably someone being considered for a position.
- Synonym: candidate
- Jones is a possible for the new opening in sales.
- (colloquial, rare) That which is possible for somebody.
1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:[…] “don’t you be in any great hurry after that treasure.”
“Why, sir, I do my possible, which that ain’t,” said Silver. “I can only, asking your pardon, save my life and the boy’s by seeking for that treasure; and you may lay to that.”
- (rare) A particular event that may happen.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations
a particular event that may happen
References
Further reading
- “possible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “possible”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin possibilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
possible m or f (masculine and feminine plural possibles)
- possible
- Antonym: impossible
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin possibilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
possible (plural possibles)
- possible
Adverb
possible
- (archaic) possibly
1657, Cyrano de Bergerac, Les Etats et Empires de la Lune:[…] ils conclurent tous d’une commune voix que je n’étais pas un homme, mais possible quelque espèce d’autruche, vu que je portais comme elle la tête droite, que je marchais sur deux pieds, et qu’enfin, hormis un peu de duvet, je lui étais tout semblable […]- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Related terms
Noun
possible m (plural possibles)
- the possible, feasible, what can be done, achieved etc.
J’ai fait mon possible pour votre fils, mais sans discipline, il ne s’efforce pas à plein.- I've done what I can for your son, but without discipline, he won't put in full effort.
Derived terms
References