See impossibility on Wiktionary
{
"antonyms": [
{
"english": "something that is impossible",
"sense": "antonym(s) of",
"word": "certainty"
},
{
"word": "inevitability"
},
{
"word": "possibility"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"word": "sure thing"
}
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "infeasibility"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "unrealizability"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "impracticality"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"word": "Abel's impossibility theorem"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "frm",
"3": "impossibilité"
},
"expansion": "Middle French impossibilité",
"name": "bor"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "impossibilitās"
},
"expansion": "Latin impossibilitās",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "im-",
"3": "possibility"
},
"expansion": "By surface analysis, im- + possibility",
"name": "surf"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "impossible",
"3": "-ity"
},
"expansion": "impossible + -ity",
"name": "af"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Middle French impossibilité, from Latin impossibilitās. By surface analysis, im- + possibility and impossible + -ity.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "impossibilities",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "impossibility (countable and uncountable, plural impossibilities)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"im‧pos‧si‧bil‧i‧ty"
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"word": "absurdity"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Meeting the deadline is an impossibility; there is no way we can be ready in time.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1645 March 14 (Gregorian calendar), John Milton, Tetrachordon: Expositions upon the Foure Chief Places in Scripture, which Treat of Mariage, or Nullities in Mariage. […], London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 17:",
"text": "God commands not impossibilities; and all the Ecclesiastical glue, that Liturgy, or Laymen can compound, is not able to soder up two such incongruous natures into the one flesh of a true beseeming Mariage.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1749, Henry Fielding, chapter VII, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XIV, page 104:",
"text": "My dear Tom, you are going to undertake an Impossibility. If you knew my Father, you would never think of obtaining his Consent.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 73:",
"text": "The ancient teachers of this science […] promised impossibilities, and performed nothing.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1962, Aldous Huxley, chapter 8, in Island, New York: Bantam, published 1963, page 123:",
"text": "Breathing had become difficult, swallowing acutely painful, and sleep an impossibility—for whenever he dropped off, the patient would choke and wake up frantically struggling for air.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Something that is impossible."
],
"id": "en-impossibility-en-noun-Bn0fu5gY",
"links": [
[
"impossible",
"impossible"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "mustaḥīl",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "مُسْتَحِيل"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "umulighed"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "onmogelijkheid"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "neeblaĵo"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "mahdottomuus"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilité"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "adýnato",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "αδύνατο"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "akatórthoto",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "ακατόρθωτο"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "adynamía",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "αδυναμία"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "apithanótita",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "απιθανότητα"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "katórthoma",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "κατόρθωμα"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "parempódisi",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "παρεμπόδιση"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "se",
"lang": "Northern Sami",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "veadjemeahttunvuohta"
},
{
"_dis1": "83 17 1",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "niemożliwość"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "8 47 45",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with im-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1548, Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke, London: Richard Grafton, Henry VIII, year 15,\nAfter long reasonyng, there wer certain appoynted, to declare the impossibilite of this demaunde to the Cardinal,"
},
{
"ref": "c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:",
"text": "[L]et the mutinous winds / Strike the proud cedars ’gainst the fiery sun; / Murdering impossibility, to make / What cannot be, slight work.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"english": "Fanny Hill",
"ref": "1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:",
"text": "[H]e threw himself upon her, and his back being now towards me, I could only take his being ingulph'd for granted, by the directions he mov'd in, and the impossibility of missing so staring a mark […]",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1838, [Edgar Allan Poe], chapter XXII, in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 173:",
"text": "But the utter impossibility of succeeding in this desperate task soon became evident.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1937, George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier, New York: Harcourt, Brace, published 1958, Part 1, Chapter 4, p. 61:",
"text": "Ever since the war, in the complete impossibility of getting houses, parts of the population have overflowed into supposedly temporary quarters in fixed caravans.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being impossible."
],
"id": "en-impossibility-en-noun-AhVXN6Am",
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being impossible."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ast",
"lang": "Asturian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilidá"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "qeyri-mümkünlük"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "mümkünsüzlük"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "nevǎzmožnost",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "невъзможност"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilitat"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "bùkěnéng",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "不可能"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "umulighed"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "onmogelijkheid"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "neebleco"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "neeblo"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "et",
"lang": "Estonian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "võimatus"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "mahdottomuus"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilité"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilidade"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "šeuʒlebloba",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "შეუძლებლობა"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "oge",
"lang": "Old Georgian",
"roman": "veršeʒleba",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "ვერშეძლება"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "oge",
"lang": "Old Georgian",
"roman": "veršeʒlebay",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "ვერშეძლებაჲ"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Unmöglichkeit"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "adýnato",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "αδύνατο"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "anéfikto",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ανέφικτο"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "lehetetlenség"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilità"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "fukanō",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "不可能"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ky",
"lang": "Kyrgyz",
"roman": "mümkünsüzdük",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "мүмкүнсүздүк"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "lv",
"lang": "Latvian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "neiespējamība"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "nevozmožnost",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "невозможност"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "se",
"lang": "Northern Sami",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "veadjemeahttunvuohta"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "pdt",
"lang": "Plautdietsch",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Ommäajlichkjeit"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "niemożliwość"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "niemożność"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilidade"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilitate"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "nevozmóžnostʹ",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "невозмо́жность"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "nemogúćnōst"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "немогу́ћно̄ст"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilidad"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "omöjlighet"
},
{
"_dis1": "7 91 2",
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "nemožlývistʹ",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "неможли́вість"
}
]
},
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{
"ref": "1562, Hugh Latimer, 27 Sermons Preached by […] Hugh Latimer, London: John Day, Sermon 7 p. 45:",
"text": "Here by this petition whan we say, Leade vs not into temptation, we learne to know our own impossibilitie and infirmitie, namely that we bee not able of our owne selues to with∣stand this great and mightye enemye the deuill.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1607, Joseph Hall, Holy Observations, Lib. 1, London: Samuel Macham, 59, p. 85:",
"text": "[…] out of their own torment, they [the damned] see the felicitie of the saints; togither with their impossibility of attayning it.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1652, Thomas Fuller, A Comment on the Eleven First Verses of the Fourth Chapter of S. Matthew’s Gospel, London: George Eversden, Sermon 7, p. 105:",
"text": "Many texts present him [Satan] with sadness, partly from his incapability of salvation, for want of a Saviour; partly from his impossibility to repent, because of his implacable and invincible malice.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The state of being unable to do something."
],
"id": "en-impossibility-en-noun-myU6voF5",
"links": [
[
"unable",
"unable"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(obsolete) The state of being unable to do something."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "inability"
},
{
"word": "incapability"
},
{
"word": "helplessness"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"obsolete",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɪmˌpɒsɪˈbɪliti/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ɪmˌpɑsɪˈbɪliti/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-impossibility.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/09/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-impossibility.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-impossibility.wav.mp3",
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},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪlɪti"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "castle in the air"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"word": "impossibility"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "pie in the sky"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0",
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "pipe dream"
}
],
"word": "impossibility"
}
{
"antonyms": [
{
"english": "something that is impossible",
"sense": "antonym(s) of",
"word": "certainty"
},
{
"word": "inevitability"
},
{
"word": "possibility"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"word": "sure thing"
}
],
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English terms borrowed from Middle French",
"English terms derived from Latin",
"English terms derived from Middle French",
"English terms prefixed with im-",
"English terms suffixed with -ity",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Rhymes:English/ɪlɪti",
"Rhymes:English/ɪlɪti/6 syllables",
"Terms with Arabic translations",
"Terms with Asturian translations",
"Terms with Azerbaijani translations",
"Terms with Bulgarian translations",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Esperanto translations",
"Terms with Estonian translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Galician translations",
"Terms with Georgian translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Greek translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Japanese translations",
"Terms with Kyrgyz translations",
"Terms with Latvian translations",
"Terms with Macedonian translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Northern Sami translations",
"Terms with Old Georgian translations",
"Terms with Plautdietsch translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Romanian translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Ukrainian translations"
],
"coordinate_terms": [
{
"word": "infeasibility"
},
{
"word": "unrealizability"
},
{
"word": "impracticality"
}
],
"derived": [
{
"word": "Abel's impossibility theorem"
}
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "frm",
"3": "impossibilité"
},
"expansion": "Middle French impossibilité",
"name": "bor"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "la",
"3": "impossibilitās"
},
"expansion": "Latin impossibilitās",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "im-",
"3": "possibility"
},
"expansion": "By surface analysis, im- + possibility",
"name": "surf"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "impossible",
"3": "-ity"
},
"expansion": "impossible + -ity",
"name": "af"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Middle French impossibilité, from Latin impossibilitās. By surface analysis, im- + possibility and impossible + -ity.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "impossibilities",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "~"
},
"expansion": "impossibility (countable and uncountable, plural impossibilities)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hyphenation": [
"im‧pos‧si‧bil‧i‧ty"
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"word": "absurdity"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Meeting the deadline is an impossibility; there is no way we can be ready in time.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1645 March 14 (Gregorian calendar), John Milton, Tetrachordon: Expositions upon the Foure Chief Places in Scripture, which Treat of Mariage, or Nullities in Mariage. […], London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 17:",
"text": "God commands not impossibilities; and all the Ecclesiastical glue, that Liturgy, or Laymen can compound, is not able to soder up two such incongruous natures into the one flesh of a true beseeming Mariage.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1749, Henry Fielding, chapter VII, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XIV, page 104:",
"text": "My dear Tom, you are going to undertake an Impossibility. If you knew my Father, you would never think of obtaining his Consent.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume I, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 73:",
"text": "The ancient teachers of this science […] promised impossibilities, and performed nothing.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1962, Aldous Huxley, chapter 8, in Island, New York: Bantam, published 1963, page 123:",
"text": "Breathing had become difficult, swallowing acutely painful, and sleep an impossibility—for whenever he dropped off, the patient would choke and wake up frantically struggling for air.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Something that is impossible."
],
"links": [
[
"impossible",
"impossible"
]
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1548, Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke, London: Richard Grafton, Henry VIII, year 15,\nAfter long reasonyng, there wer certain appoynted, to declare the impossibilite of this demaunde to the Cardinal,"
},
{
"ref": "c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:",
"text": "[L]et the mutinous winds / Strike the proud cedars ’gainst the fiery sun; / Murdering impossibility, to make / What cannot be, slight work.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"english": "Fanny Hill",
"ref": "1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:",
"text": "[H]e threw himself upon her, and his back being now towards me, I could only take his being ingulph'd for granted, by the directions he mov'd in, and the impossibility of missing so staring a mark […]",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1838, [Edgar Allan Poe], chapter XXII, in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 173:",
"text": "But the utter impossibility of succeeding in this desperate task soon became evident.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1937, George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier, New York: Harcourt, Brace, published 1958, Part 1, Chapter 4, p. 61:",
"text": "Ever since the war, in the complete impossibility of getting houses, parts of the population have overflowed into supposedly temporary quarters in fixed caravans.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The quality of being impossible."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(uncountable) The quality of being impossible."
],
"tags": [
"uncountable"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with obsolete senses",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1562, Hugh Latimer, 27 Sermons Preached by […] Hugh Latimer, London: John Day, Sermon 7 p. 45:",
"text": "Here by this petition whan we say, Leade vs not into temptation, we learne to know our own impossibilitie and infirmitie, namely that we bee not able of our owne selues to with∣stand this great and mightye enemye the deuill.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1607, Joseph Hall, Holy Observations, Lib. 1, London: Samuel Macham, 59, p. 85:",
"text": "[…] out of their own torment, they [the damned] see the felicitie of the saints; togither with their impossibility of attayning it.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1652, Thomas Fuller, A Comment on the Eleven First Verses of the Fourth Chapter of S. Matthew’s Gospel, London: George Eversden, Sermon 7, p. 105:",
"text": "Many texts present him [Satan] with sadness, partly from his incapability of salvation, for want of a Saviour; partly from his impossibility to repent, because of his implacable and invincible malice.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"The state of being unable to do something."
],
"links": [
[
"unable",
"unable"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(obsolete) The state of being unable to do something."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "inability"
},
{
"word": "incapability"
},
{
"word": "helplessness"
}
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"obsolete",
"uncountable"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/ɪmˌpɒsɪˈbɪliti/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ɪmˌpɑsɪˈbɪliti/",
"tags": [
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-impossibility.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/09/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-impossibility.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vininn126-impossibility.wav.mp3",
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},
{
"rhymes": "-ɪlɪti"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "castle in the air"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"word": "impossibility"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "pie in the sky"
},
{
"source": "Thesaurus:impossibility",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "pipe dream"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ar",
"lang": "Arabic",
"roman": "mustaḥīl",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "مُسْتَحِيل"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "umulighed"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "onmogelijkheid"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "neeblaĵo"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "mahdottomuus"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilité"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "adýnato",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "αδύνατο"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "akatórthoto",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "ακατόρθωτο"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "adynamía",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "αδυναμία"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "apithanótita",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "απιθανότητα"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "katórthoma",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "κατόρθωμα"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "parempódisi",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "παρεμπόδιση"
},
{
"code": "se",
"lang": "Northern Sami",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"word": "veadjemeahttunvuohta"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "something that is impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "niemożliwość"
},
{
"code": "ast",
"lang": "Asturian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilidá"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "qeyri-mümkünlük"
},
{
"code": "az",
"lang": "Azerbaijani",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "mümkünsüzlük"
},
{
"code": "bg",
"lang": "Bulgarian",
"roman": "nevǎzmožnost",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "невъзможност"
},
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilitat"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "bùkěnéng",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "不可能"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "umulighed"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "onmogelijkheid"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "neebleco"
},
{
"code": "eo",
"lang": "Esperanto",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "neeblo"
},
{
"code": "et",
"lang": "Estonian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "võimatus"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "mahdottomuus"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilité"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilidade"
},
{
"code": "ka",
"lang": "Georgian",
"roman": "šeuʒlebloba",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "შეუძლებლობა"
},
{
"code": "oge",
"lang": "Old Georgian",
"roman": "veršeʒleba",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "ვერშეძლება"
},
{
"code": "oge",
"lang": "Old Georgian",
"roman": "veršeʒlebay",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "ვერშეძლებაჲ"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Unmöglichkeit"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "adýnato",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "αδύνατο"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "anéfikto",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "ανέφικτο"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "lehetetlenség"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilità"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "fukanō",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "不可能"
},
{
"code": "ky",
"lang": "Kyrgyz",
"roman": "mümkünsüzdük",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "мүмкүнсүздүк"
},
{
"code": "lv",
"lang": "Latvian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "neiespējamība"
},
{
"code": "mk",
"lang": "Macedonian",
"roman": "nevozmožnost",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "невозможност"
},
{
"code": "se",
"lang": "Northern Sami",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"word": "veadjemeahttunvuohta"
},
{
"code": "pdt",
"lang": "Plautdietsch",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Ommäajlichkjeit"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "niemożliwość"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "niemożność"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "impossibilidade"
},
{
"code": "ro",
"lang": "Romanian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilitate"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "nevozmóžnostʹ",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "невозмо́жность"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "nemogúćnōst"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "немогу́ћно̄ст"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "imposibilidad"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"common-gender"
],
"word": "omöjlighet"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "nemožlývistʹ",
"sense": "quality of being impossible",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "неможли́вість"
}
],
"word": "impossibility"
}
Download raw JSONL data for impossibility meaning in All languages combined (15.6kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.