impossible
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Not possible; not able to be done or happen.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihmpahsuhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪmˈpɑsəbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not possible; not able to be done or happen.
Not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with
colloquialof a person
Very difficult to deal with.
noun
A skateboard trick consisting of a backflip performed in midair.
An impossibility.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not possible; not able to be done or happen.
Used this way, impossible is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use impossible
- “His assignment verged on the impossible.”noun
- “An impossible dream.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An alternative that is not available.
An extremely dangerous or difficult mission.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
To a degree impossible of achievement.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: not possible
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “impossible” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.