mission impossible
noun
Simple meaning
An extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mishuhnihmpahsuhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɪʃənɪmˈpɑsəbəl
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.
noun
An extremely dangerous or difficult mission
An extremely difficult, if not impossible, task.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: An extremely dangerous or difficult mission
Used this way, mission impossible is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.