impossible

Everyday

1. Not able to happen or be done: «It's impossible to be in two places at once». tree →
2. Very difficult to deal with: «You're impossible today!» tree →
3. (the impossible) Something that cannot be done: «They tried to do the impossible». tree →

In the lessons

In maths: an impossible event has probability 0 (like rolling a 7 on a normal 1–6 dice). The probability scale goes from impossible (0) through unlikely, even chance, likely, to certain (1). In stories heroes «do the impossible». In everyday life people say «impossible» for very hard things that are actually possible.

Examples

• It is impossible to roll a 7 with one normal dice. tree →
• Nothing is impossible if you keep trying! tree →
• It's impossible to see in this fog. tree →
• My little brother is impossible when he's tired. tree →
• Flying like a bird is impossible for people without a machine. tree →
• The puzzle seemed impossible, but we solved it. tree →
• Mark the event "the sun rises in the west" as impossible. tree →
• “It is impossible!” cried the King. tree →

Note

Prefix im- + possible (im- before p, b, m). Opposite: possible. In maths, impossible = probability 0, exactly; «unlikely» is not the same as «impossible». Not used with «very»: «nearly impossible» or «almost impossible» is fine.

In Jewish tradition

In maths: an impossible event has probability 0 (like rolling a 7 on a normal 1–6 dice). The probability scale goes from impossible (0) through unlikely, even chance, likely, to certain (1). In stories heroes «do the impossible». In everyday life people say «impossible» for very hard things that are actually possible.

Examples

• Although the Sefer Tetzirah is exceedingly hard to understand, the solution of its many diflicalties is not impossible. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• If it has the sound oi ? it is impossible that it should also have the sound of £.. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• It is, therefore, not at all impossible that the prophet Jeremiah and his grandson Ben Sira studied its philosophy. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

Prefix im- + possible (im- before p, b, m). Opposite: possible. In maths, impossible = probability 0, exactly; «unlikely» is not the same as «impossible». Not used with «very»: «nearly impossible» or «almost impossible» is fine.