Meaning

3 senses
  1. (not comparable, usually)Not possible; not able to be done or happen.

    13 March 1962, John F. Kennedy, speech at the White House Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

    It is difficult, if not impossible, to memorize 20,000 consecutive numbers.

    unmöglich, unmöglich

    невозмо́жныйnevozmóžnyj, невыполнимыйnevypolnimyj, неосуществи́мыйneosuščestvímyj

    неможли́вийnemožlývyj

  2. (colloquial, not comparable, usually)Very difficult to deal with.

    You never listen to a word I say – you're impossible!

    This humidity is impossible.

    unmöglich

    нереальныйnerealʹnyj, невозмо́жныйnevozmóžnyj, невыполнимыйnevypolnimyj

  3. (dated, not comparable, usually)Imaginary

    impossible quantities, or imaginary numbers

More definitions
  • not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
  • totally unlikely
  • (used of persons or their behavior) not acceptable or reasonable

Examples

1147 sentences
  1. It is impossible to do it.

    Це зробити не можливо. — shanghainese

    ruЭто невозможно сделать. — marafon

    deEs ist unmöglich, das zu tun. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

  2. Tom told me that it's impossible.

    Том сказав мені, що це неможливо. — deniko

    ruТом сказал мне, что это невозможно. — marafon

  3. It'll be difficult but not impossible.

    Це буде складно, але не неможливо. — deniko

    ruЭто будет сложно, но не невозможно. — marafon

  4. It'll be difficult, but not impossible.

    Це буде складно, але не неможливо. — deniko

    ruЭто будет сложно, но не невозможно. — marafon

  5. We know that this is impossible.

    Ми знаємо, що це неможливо. — deniko

    ruМы знаем, что это невозможно. — marafon

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
not able to be done:
Русский
By meaning 3
not able to be done:
never happening:
very difficult to deal with:
Deutsch
By meaning 1
not able to be done:

Origin

From Middle English impossible, equivalent to im- + possible.

From Middle English impossible, equivalent to im- + possible.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more impossible, most impossible
Comparativemore impossible Lesson
Superlativemost impossible Lesson

regular

Synonyms

8 synonyms
Close in meaning

Antonyms

2 antonyms
not able to be done or happen:possibleA2inevitableB1

Word family

16 related words

Collocations

12 patterns
  • be impossible to
  • impossible to do
  • would be impossible
  • be impossible for
  • almost impossible to
  • almost impossible
  • but not impossible
  • be almost impossible
  • impossible to predict
  • impossible to get
  • impossible to tell
  • to be impossible

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
impossible — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto