Impossible

Definition: Impossible

Impossible

Adjective

1. Not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with; "an impossible dream"; "an impossible situation".

2. Totally unlikely.

3. Used of persons or their behavior; "impossible behavior"; "insufferable insolence".

Noun

1. Something that cannot be done; "his assignment verged on the impossible".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "impossible" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references)

Etymology: Impossible \Im*pos"si*ble\, adjective. [French, from Latin impossibilis; pref. im- not + possibilis possible. See Possible.]. (references)

Synonyms: Impossible

Difficulty

Verb: be difficult; Adjective: run one hard, go against the grain, try one's patience, put one out; put to one's shifts, put to one's wit's end; go hard with one, try one; pose, perplex; (uncertain); bother, nonplus, gravel, bring to a deadlock; be impossible; be in the way of; (hinder).

Awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable; intractable, stubborn; (obstinate); perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged; knotted, knotty; invious; pathless, trackless; labyrinthine; (convoluted); intricate, complicated; (tangled); impracticable; (impossible); not feasible; desperate; (hopeless).

Impossibility

Verb: be impossible; Adjective: have no chance whatever.

Adjective: impossible; not possible; absurd, contrary to reason; unlikely; unreasonable; incredible; beyond the bounds of reason, beyond the bounds of possibility, beyond the realm of possibility; from which reason recoils; visionary; inconceivable; (improbable); prodigious; (wonderful); unimaginable, inimaginable; unthinkable.

Inutility

Seek after impossibilities, strive after impossibilities; use vain efforts, labor in vain, roll the stone of Sisyphus, beat the air, lash the waves, battre l'eau avec un baton, donner un coup d'epee dans l'eau, fish in the air, milk the ram, drop a bucket into an empty well, sow the sand; bay the moon; preach to the winds, speak to the winds; whistle jigs to a milestone; kick against the pricks, se battre contre des moulins; lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, lock the barn door after the horse is stolen; (too late);seek after impossibilities, strive after impossibilities; use vain efforts, labor in vain, roll the stone of Sisyphus, beat the air, lash the waves, battre l'eau avec un baton, donner un coup d'epee dans l'eau, fish in the air, milk the ram, drop a bucket into an empty well, sow the sand; bay the moon; preach to the winds, speak to the winds; whistle jigs to a milestone; kick against the pricks, se battre contre des moulins; lock the stable door when the steed is stolen, lock the barn door after the horse is stolen; (too late); hold a farthing candle to the sun; cast pearls before swine; (waste); carry coals to Newcastle; (redundancy); wash a blackamoor white; (impossible).

Number

Positive, negative; rational, irrational; surd, radical, real; complex, imaginary; finite; infinite; impossible.

Refusal

Refused; Verb: ungranted, out of the question, not to be thought of, impossible.

Unbelief Doubt

Doubtful; (uncertain); disputable; unworthy of, undeserving of belief; questionable; suspect, suspicious; open to suspicion, open to doubt; staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be believed, inconceivable; impossible.

Crosswords: Impossible

French (far fetched, hopeless, impossible, incredible, outrageous, unbearable), Spanish (impossible).

Impossible to see the future is. (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones; writing credit: George Lucas)

That's impossible! It was ruined when I got here (Moonstruck; writing credit: John Patrick Shanley. Starring Cher as Loretta Castorini and Nicolas Cage as Ronny Cammareri.)

You don't want it to be someone you know and you don't want it to be someone better than you. While the latter is obviously impossible, the former still applies (Seinfeld; writing credit: Andreas Lenze; Bea Schmidt)

The instruction book said that was impossible! (Airport; writing credit: Arthur Hailey; George Seaton)

Impossible. When you consider the wonders that exist all around usvoodoo priests of Haiti, the Tibetan numerologists of Appalachia, the unsolved mysteries of Unsolved Mysteries (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge)

Impossible as it may seem (Quit Playing Games; performing artist: Backstreet Boys)

It's, ah, impossible (This Kiss; performing artist: Faith Hill)

There's some impossible to refuse (New Sensation; performing artist: INXS)

It's been close a few, at times even impossible (Between Me and You; performing artist: Ja Rule)

I dreamt the impossible (Shattered Dreams; performing artist: Johnny Hates Jazz)

It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. (references; author: unknown)

Learning history is easy. Learning its lessons is almost impossible. (references; author: unknown)

Nothing seems impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself. (references; author: unknown)

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible! (references; author: unknown)

Adult Education Topic: Is it genetically impossible to sit quietly as she parallel parks? Driving simulation. (references; author: unknown)

Impossible... pas français (1974)

The Impossible Years (1968)

Mission Impossible Versus the Mob (1968)

That Man Mr. Impossible (1968)

Mission: Impossible (1966)

It's Impossible (performing artist: Perry Como)

IMPOSSIBLE DREAM  (performing artist: Temptations )

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Impossible Places (reference)

• Impossible Things (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Mission Impossible (reference)

• Mission Impossible 2 (reference)

• Mission Impossible DVD Collector's Set (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• And I Love You So/It's Impossible (reference)

• So Impossible [EP] (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• Mission Impossible (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Pictured here is a computer laboratory with rows of machinery. This technology aids in cancer research. Without it, it would be impossible to store and retrieve the vast amounts of information needed for detailed research projects. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer).

A vast storeroom for computer tapes that are on multi-tiered rows shelves. Without the new technology of computers, it would be impossible to store and retrieve the vast amounts of information needed for detailed cancer research being done today. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer).

South Pole Station on a day without a horizon, near "white out" conditions. Flags mark path. One would literally feel like walking in a bowl of milk. There was no surface definition and one had to walk with bent knees because impossible to determine if surface was uneven. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Title page to: A physical dissertation, concerning the cause of the variation of the barometer ...., by Jacques de Roubaix. Printed in 1721. Check out note concerning "that it is impossible to find out the longitude"! Library Call Number QC891 .R85 1721. Credit: Treasures of the Library.

Figure 15. Zacharias ethmophore plankton filter devised by Otto Zacharias in 1907. Top: view of the assembled apparatus. Bottom: internal speed reduction valve. This instrument was devised to collect plankton under adverse meteorolog ical conditions where normal net-towing operations became impossible. This inst rument was first used in a lake, but then in the Mediterranean and Tyrhennian. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 36. A modern wind direction indicator or weathervane that would transmit wind direction to a recording device. The use and history of this instrument is impossible to determine. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Vines and other jungle growth make it almost impossible to walk anywhere but on the beach and on kept-up trails on Isla Cocos. Credit: Small World.

A low-temperature scanning electron microscope enables acarologist Ron Ochoa (background) and botanist Eric Erbe to observe tiny mites in detail impossible with conventional microscopes and slide-mounting techniques. Liquid nitrogen is first used to flash-freeze mites on their hosts in their natural positions. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

Jackie can't be put into an ideal environment -- that is impossible. Credit: Library of Congress.

An impossible adventure : the wicked flea. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Secondly, It is impossible of right, that men should do so, because all men being born under government, they are to submit to that, and are not at liberty to begin a new one. (Second Treatise of Government)

This person must, indeed, be swept out of the way, and made impossible. (reference)

If such restoration is inequitable or impossible the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal may grant compensation to the prejudiced party to be paid by the German Government. (reference)

Twice in our own lifetime we have seen the United States, against their wishes and their traditions, against arguments, the force of which it is impossible not to comprehend, drawn by irresistible forces, into these wars in time to secure the victory of the good cause, but only after frightful slaughter and devastation had occurred. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

But it is impossible not to feel uneasiness

So remonstrance was impossible, and no steering could be done till the next varnishing day.

It was impossible to extricate him otherwise than by raising the waggon from beneath

This was impossible, because she was young and a woman

But it is impossible to express the satisfaction I received in my own mind, after such a manner as to make it a suitable entertainment to the reader

Incessant labor with my hands, at first, for I had my house to finish and my beans to hoe at the same time, made more study impossible.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Without a retina, the eye cannot communicate with the brain, making vision impossible. (references)

Most of those cases were from Sudan where the ongoing civil war makes it impossible to eradicate the disease. (references)

It is impossible to estimate the extent of hypoxemia and hypercapnia by observing a patient’s signs and symptoms, and mild hypoxemia and hypercapnia may go entirely unnoticed. (references)

Business

This makes it impossible to maintain quality programs. (references)

This can be a very costly procedure and is in many cases even almost impossible. (references)

Currently, it is almost impossible for a product that does fit into any of the 25 categories to be sold in Korea. (references)

Children

Congo

These conditions sometimes make it impossible for parents to meet their children's basic human needs. (references)

Angola

As a result of the war and increasing numbers of IDP's, millions of persons lack birth certification and identification documents, making proof of age impossible for schools, employers, and conscription. (references)

Civil Liberties

Malaysia

The ruling makes conversion of Muslims nearly impossible in practice. (references)

Economic History

Azerbaijan

Information on decisions implementing laws and regulations is impossible to obtain. (references)

Iran

The U.S. believes that normal relations are impossible until Iran's behavior changes. (references)

Nepal

Current investment rules make it impossible to set up and maintain business consultancy services in Nepal. (references)

Human Rights

Sri Lanka

The number is impossible to determine because of the secretive nature of the organization. (references)

Sri Lanka

It was impossible to determine the number of victims because of the secrecy with which these groups operated. (references)

Sri Lanka

The exact size of these militias is impossible to ascertain, but they probably total fewer than 2,000 persons. (references)

Minorities

Croatia

This made resumption of a normal life almost impossible for this group. (references)

Political Economy

Sudan

Nonregistered religious groups find it impossible to construct a place of worship or to assemble legally and are harassed by the Government. (references)

HAITI

In an economy dominated by small-scale traders and merchants, it is almost impossible for the government to control retail prices of food products and consumer goods. (references)

Political Rights

Kazakhstan

Modifying or amending the Constitution is nearly impossible without the consent of the president. (references)

Tunisia

During the elections, opposition parties found independent fundraising impossible, and those that published newspapers or magazines faced difficulties in obtaining paid advertisers. (references)

Gabon

In December elections were held for the National Assembly, the lower house of the bicameral legislature; nine opposition parties boycotted the first round of the elections, asserting that procedural and systemic shortcomings made a free and fair election impossible. (references)

Trade

Colombia

In many cases, it is impossible for an exporter to estimate the final import duty. (references)

Armenia

Lending from the government: the Armenian government is experiencing a shortage of resources, making loans from state lending institutions almost impossible. (references)

Italy

In practice, samples valued in excess of lira 5 million (or about 2,500 USD) are practically impossible to clear through Italian customs informally, i.e. by the traveler. (references)

Travel

Indonesia

If vomiting makes it impossible to adequately rehydrate, visit a clinic immediately. (references)

Vietnam

In building a consensus, it may prove impossible to "steamroller" the minority opinion, which must be wooed instead. (references)

Chad

The visa should be obtained prior to departure as it is virtually impossible to obtain one at the airport upon arrival. (references)

Women

Romania

The successful prosecution of spousal rape is almost impossible. (references)

Burundi

Domestic violence against women is pervasive; however, inadequate data make it impossible to quantify. (references)

Saudi Arabia

It is almost impossible for foreign women to obtain redress in the courts due to the courts' strict evidentiary rules and the women's and servants' own fears of reprisals. (references)

Worker Rights

China

With media coverage strictly controlled, accurate statistics, especially of labor protests, have been impossible to obtain. (references)

Turkey

It is difficult for a single worker, and impossible for a family, to live on the minimum wage without support from other sources. (references)

Argentina

The law makes it virtually impossible for new unions to challenge existing unions, thus giving the established unions a monopoly on these fundamental powers of representation. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "impossible": ask for the impossible ♦ be impossible ♦ impossible action ♦ impossible attempt ♦ Impossible quantity ♦ impossible to replace ♦ it's all but impossible ♦ it's virtually impossible ♦ make impossible ♦ make smth. impossible ♦ mission impossible ♦ next to impossible ♦ physically impossible. Additional references.

Beginning with "impossible": impossible-looking, impossible-sounding, impossible-to-answer, impossible-to-be-otherwise, impossible-to-contemplate, impossible-to-define, impossible-to-ignore, impossible-to-stop-humming.

Ending with "impossible": near-impossible.

Albanian

i parealizueshëm (hopeless, impracticable), i pamundur (hopeless, out of the question), i padurueshëm (insufferable, insupportable, obnoxious, revolting, terrible, unbearable, unendurable). (various references)

Arabic 

مستحيل (absurd), ‏متعذر (hopeless, unattainable), ‏مستحيل (no way, out of the question), ‏لا يطاق (fiend, insufferable, intolerable, unbearable), ‏لا إحتمال, ‏بغيض (abominable, accursed, antipathetic, beastly, blasted, cursed, damned, detestable, distasteful, dreadful, forbidding, frightful, hateful, horrid, nasty, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, odious, out of favor, out of favour, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, sticky, ungrateful, unhappy, unlikely, unpalatable, unpleasant, unsavory, unsavoury, unwelcome, villainous). (various references)

Bulgarian 

невъобразим (inconceivable, portentous, undreamed of, unimaginable, unthinkable, unutterable), невъзможно (impossibly), невъзможен (bloody minded, infamous, miserable, monstrous, perishing, pestilent, terrible, unchristian, unfeasible, unthinkable, villainous, wretched), непоносим (deadly, importunate, insufferable, insupportable, murderous, pestiferous, provoking, thick, unbearable, unendurable, unsupportable), неизпълним. (various references)

Chinese 

不可能 . (various references)

Czech

nemožný (absurd). (various references)

Danish

induktionsspolen er indkapslet i elastomer, som udelukker enhver mulighed for kontakt med viklingerne (the inductor is embedded in an elastomer block which makes it absolutely impossible for the windings to be touched), umulig koblingsstilling (coupling impossible position), man har injiceret vand i en gaslomme for at opretholde trykket paa steder,der er underkastet et kraftigt natuurligt vandtryk,og det har vist sig umuligt at begraense produktionen af gas fra en gaslomme (and it has proved impossible to limit the production of gas-cap gas, water has been injected into a gas to maintain the pressure where there is a strong natural water drive). (various references)

Dutch

uitgesloten (eXcluded), onbestaanbaar. (various references)

Esperanto

neebla. (various references)

Farsi 

نشدنی (Impractical), غیرممکن (Romantic), امکان ناپذیر. (various references)

Finnish

mahdoton (absurd). (various references)

French

impossible. (various references)

German

unmöglich (hopeless, impossibly, not possibly, outrageous, outrageously, ridiculous, unlikely), ausgeschlossen (debared, debarred, excluded, excludet, out, out of the question, precluded). (various references)

Greek 

αδύνατοσ (feeble, flimsy, frail, impotent, languishing, languorous, puny, sappy, sinewless, sleazy, slender, slimsy, softy, strengthless, thin, underdog, underfed, wan, washy, weak), αδύνατον. (various references)

Hebrew 

אי אפשר, בלתי אפשרי. (various references)

Hungarian

lehetetlen (beyond possibility, it will not wash, no chance, out of the question, unearthly). (various references)

Indonesian

tak mungkin (unthinkable), mustahil (improbable, inept, preposterous), muhal (out of the question). (various references)

Italian

impossibile (out of the question, unable, unearthly). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

無理　 (unreasonable), 無理 (overdoing, unreasonable), インフレ対策 (counter-inflation measures, impedance, imperial, implement, implementation, implementor, implication, import, important, impotence, impression, impressive, improvisation, in play, inheritance, input, invader, invention, inventory, inventory cycles, inventory finance, inventory recession, inventory recovery, investment, investment analyst, investment bank, investment counselor, invoice, involve), 不可能 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ふかのう, むり (overdoing, unreasonable), インポシブル . (various references)

Korean 

불가능한. (various references)

Malay

tak mungkin. (various references)

Manx

neuyantagh, neuyannooagh, neuchredjallagh (incredible, unbelievable). (various references)

Norwegian

umulig. (various references)

Papiamen

imposibel. (various references)

Pig Latin

impossibleay.(various references)

Polish

niemożliwy. (various references)

Portuguese

impossível. (various references)

Portuguese Brazilian

impossível. (various references)

Romanian

insuportabil (aggravating, beyond endurance, exquisite, fierce, insufferable, insupportable, keen, obnoxious, obnoxiously, oppressive, outrageous, past endurance, trying, unbearable, unbearably, unendurable), imposibil (absurd, extravagant, insolubly, it's no go, never, not really, out of the question, unbearable, unearthly, unfeasible), extrem de greu, de neatins (sacred), absurd (absurd, absurdity, absurdly, Dotty, fabulous, foolish, inept, irrational, ludicrous, mad, mindless, nonsensical, piffling, preposterous, recondite, ridiculous, silly, stupid, temerarious, unreasonable). (various references)

Russian 

невыносимый (crashing, insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unbearable, unendurable), невозможный (implausible), невозможно невозможный, невероятный (anecdotic, fabulous, implausible, improbable, inconceivable, incredible, mind-blowing, mind-boggling, prodigious, unbelievable, undreamt of). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

nemoguće (impossibly), nemoguć. (various references)

Spanish

imposible (hopeless, irrelevant, no). (various references)

Swedish

omöjlig (hopeless, impossibly, imppssible, unplayable, wild-eyed). (various references)

Turkish

inanılmayacak kadar, imkânsız (fabulous, no go, unfeasible), olmaz (christ no, no, no deal, no dice, no way, nope, nothing, nothing doing, that cat won't jump, thumbs down, unlikely, unseemly), olanaksız biçimde, olanaksız (absurd, out, out of question, out of the question, unfeasible, unthinkable), olamaz (ir-, no can do, no chance, no way), katlanılmaz (beyond all bearing, insufferable, insupportable, provoking, unbearable, unendurable), çekilmez (beyond all bearing, beyond bearing, beyond endurance, forbidding, insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, past endurance, provoking, unacceptable, unbearable, unendurable). (various references)

Ukrainian

нестерпний (chronic, cruel, excruciating, impassive, insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, obnoxious, painful, pink, racking, repugnant, unbearable), неймовірний (anecdotic, anecdotical, colossal, implausible, improbable, unbelievable, unimaginable), неміожливе, неможливий. (various references)

Vietnamese 

quá đáng (excessive, fulsome, melodramatic, violent), không tiện, không thể xảy ra được không thích hợp, không thể làm được không thể có được (impossibly), không thể chịu được (unsupportable). (various references)

Welsh

annichon, amhosibl. (various references)

inpossibile, inpossibilia, inpossibilis. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.