• Possible

    Pronunciation

    • RP IPA: /ˈpÉ’sáµ»blÌ©/
    • GenAm IPA: /ˈpÉ‘sÉ™blÌ©/
    • Hyphenation: pos + si + ble

    Origin

    From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin possibilis ("possible"), from Latin posse ("to be able"); see power.

    Full definition of possible

    Adjective

    possible

    1. (usually not comparable) Able but not certain to happen; neither inevitable nor impossible.
      Rain tomorrow is possible, but I wouldn't bet on it.
      It's not just possible, it's probable.
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 8, 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.
    2. (comparable) Capable of being done or achieved; feasible.
      It's possible for anyone to learn to pay the bagpipes.
      • 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.
      • Peace between Israel and the Arab countries is "more possible than any time before," says ex-Arab League U.N. ambassador Clovis Maskoud.
      • 2013-06-29, A punch in the gut, 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.
    3. Being considered, e.g. for a position.
      Jones and Smith are both possible for the opening in sales.

    Derived terms

    Antonyms

    Noun

    possible

    (plural possibles)
    1. A possible one
    2. (colloquial, rare) A possible choice, notably someone being considered for a position.Jones is a possible for the new opening in sales.
    3. (rare) A particular event that may happen.

    Anagrams

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