possibly

pos·si·bly

 (pŏs′ə-blē)

adv.

1. Perhaps: He hesitated, possibly remembering his unsuccessful last attempt.

2. Conceivably: Could they possibly be here already?

3. Under any circumstances: I can't possibly do it.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

possibly

(ˈpɒsɪblɪ)

sentence substitute, adv

a. perhaps or maybe

b. (as sentence modifier): possibly he'll come.

adv

by any chance; at all: he can't possibly come.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pos•si•bly

(ˈpɒs ə bli)

adv.

1. by merest chance; perhaps; maybe: Possibly he will show up.

2. by any possibility; conceivably: Could you possibly help me?

[1350–1400]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

possible

– possibly

1. 'possible'

Possible is an adjective. If something is possible, it can be done or achieved.

It is possible for us to measure the amount of rain.

Some improvement may be possible.

Possible is often used in expressions such as as soon as possible and as much as possible. If you do something as soon as possible, you do it as soon as you can.

I like to know as much as possible about my patients.

He sat as far away from me as possible.

Be Careful!
Don't say 'as soon as possibly'.

You also use possible to say that something may be true or correct.

It is possible that he made a mistake.

That's one possible answer.

2. 'possibly'

Possibly is an adverb. You use possibly to show that you are not sure about something.

Television is possibly to blame for this.

She is always cheerful, which is possibly why people like her.

You also use possibly when you are asking someone to do something in a very polite way. For example, you say 'Could you possibly carry this for me?'

Could you possibly meet me there tomorrow at ten?

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

Thesaurus

Adv.	1.	possibly - by chance; "perhaps she will call tomorrow"; "we may possibly run into them at the concert"; "it may peradventure be thought that there never was such a time" maybe, mayhap, peradventure, perhaps, perchance
	2.	possibly - to a degree possible of achievement or by possible means; "they can't possibly get here in time for the funeral?" impossibly - to a degree impossible of achievement; "long thought to be an impossibly difficult operation"; "impossibly far from sources of supply"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

possibly

adverb

1. perhaps, maybe, God willing, perchance (archaic), mayhap (archaic), peradventure (archaic), haply (archaic) Exercise may possibly protect against heart attacks.

2. at all, in any way, conceivably, by any means, under any circumstances, by any chance I couldn't possibly answer that.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

رُبَّمارُبَّما، من المُمْكِنمِنَ الـمُمْكِن

možnápodle své možnostisnad

muligvismåske

möglicherweisevielleichtmöglich

πιθανόν

posiblementequizásquizá

mahdollisesti

éventuellementpeut-êtrepossiblement

moguće

ha csak egy mód van rálehetõség szerint

mögulega

forsepossibilmentepropriopuò darsi

ことによると

아마도

mogelijk

muligens

prawdopodobnie

possivelmente

возможно

podľa svojej možnosti

mogoče

möjligtvis

อาจจะ

belkielverdiğincemümkün olduğuncaolasılıkla

có thể

可能地也许

possibly

[ˈpɒsəblɪ] ADV

1. (= feasibly, conceivably) if I possibly can → si me es posible, si puedo
I go as often as I possibly can → voy siempre que puedo, voy lo más a menudo posible
how can I possibly come tomorrow? → ¿cómo voy a poder venir mañana?
could you possibly come another day? → ¿le sería posible venir otro día?, ¿podría venir otro día?
I can't possibly eat all this → me es totalmente imposible comer todo esto
I couldn't possibly allow it → de ninguna manera lo voy a permitir
it can't possibly be true! → ¡no puede ser verdad!
she will do everything she possibly can to help you → hará todo lo que esté en su mano or todo lo que pueda para ayudarte
he never does it if he can possibly help it → siempre que puede evitarlo lo evita

2. (= perhaps) "will you be able to come?" - "possibly" → -¿podrás venir? -es posible or -puede que sí
possibly not → puede que no
of the 200 who apply, possibly five may be accepted → de los 200 solicitantes, tal vez se elija a cinco

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

possibly

[ˈpɒsɪbli] adv

(= perhaps) → peut-être
Are you coming to the party? - Possibly → Est-ce que tu viens à la soirée? - Peut-être.

[can, can't] if you possibly can → si cela vous est possible
I can't possibly come → Je ne peux vraiment pas venir.
I can't possibly do that → Je ne peux vraiment pas faire ça.
to do everything one possibly can → faire tout son possible

(= conceivably)
The police? What could they possibly want with me? → La police ? Qu'est-ce qu'ils peuvent bien me vouloir ?
How can they possibly eat that stuff? → Mais comment peuvent-il manger ce truc-là ?
What could this possibly mean? → Qu'est-ce que ça peut bien vouloir dire ?
He couldn't possibly have said that! → Il n'a pas pu dire une chose pareille !

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

possibly

adv

not possibly → unmöglich; I can’t possibly stay indoors all weekend → ich kann unmöglich das ganze Wochenende in der Wohnung sitzen; nobody could possibly tell the difference → es war unmöglich, einen Unterschied zu erkennen; that can’t possibly be true → das kann unmöglich wahr sein; can that possibly be true? → kann das (vielleicht doch) stimmen?; very or quite possibly → absolut or durchaus möglich; how could I possibly have come? → wie hätte ich denn kommen können?; how could he possibly have known that? → wie konnte er das nur wissen?; he did all he possibly could → er tat, was er nur konnte; I have made myself as comfortable as I possibly can → ich habe es mir so bequem wie möglich gemacht; if I possibly can → wenn ich irgend kann; I couldn’t possibly … (polite formula) → ich kann unmöglich …

(= perhaps) → vielleicht, möglicherweise; possibly not → vielleicht nicht, möglicherweise nicht

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

possibly

[ˈpɒsəblɪ] adv

a. he did all he possibly could → ha fatto tutto il possibile
as often as I possibly can → quanto più spesso posso
how can I possibly? → come posso?
I cannot possibly do it → non posso assolutamente or proprio farlo
could you possibly...? → potresti...?
if you possibly can → se le è possibile

b. (perhaps) → forse

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

possible

(ˈposəbl) adjective

1. able to happen or be done. It's possible that the train will be delayed; We'll come as soon as possible; I'll do everything possible; She did the only possible thing in the circumstances. moontlik مُمكِن възможен possível možný möglich mulig δυνατός, εφικτόςposible võimalik ممکن mahdollinen possibleאפשרי संभव moguć, eventualan lehetséges mungkin mögulegur possibile あり得る 가능한 galimas, įmanomas iespējams boleh jadi mogelijkmuligmożliwy شونى possível posibil возможный možný možen moguć möjlig, tänkbar เป็นไปได้ mümkün 可能的 можливий, імовірний ممکن có thể 可能的

2. satisfactory; acceptable. I've thought of a possible solution to the problem. moontlik مَقْبول، مُرْضٍ задоволителен possível uspokojivý, možný möglich tilfredsstillende; mulig ικανοποιητικός, κατάλληλοςposible rahuldav مناسب؛ پذیرفتنی mahdollinen possibleאפשרי उपयुक्त vjerovatan lehetséges memuaskan mögulegur, ásættanlegur possibile まあまあの 만족스러운 galimas, tinkamas iespējams; varbūtējs; pieņemams munasabah mogelijkmulig, fornuftigmożliwy مناسٰب، سم، د منلو وړ possível acceptabil возможный uspokojivý možen moguć vettig, acceptabel ยอมรับได้ kabul edilebilir 令人滿意的，可以接受的 можливий اطمينان بخش hợp lý 令人满意的，可以接受的

ˌpossiˈbility – plural possiˈbilities – noun

something that is possible; the state of being possible; (a) likelihood. There isn't much possibility of that happening; There's a possibility of war; The plan has possibilities (= looks as if it may be a good one). moontlikhede إمكانِيَّه възможност possibilidade možnost die Möglichkeit mulighed δυνατότητα, πιθανότητα, ενδεχόμενοposibilidad võimal(ikk)us امکان؛ چیز ممکن mahdollisuus possiblitéאפשרות संभवता, शक्यता, संभावना, संभावित mogućnost lehetőség kemungkinan möguleiki possibilità 可能性 가능성 galimybë, galimumas iespējamība; iespēja kemungkinan mogelijkheidmulighetmożliwość شونتيا، يو شونى شى possibilidade posibilitate возможность; вероятность možnosť možnost mogućnost möjlighet ความเป็นไปได้ olasılık 可能性 можливість; перспективи امکان khả năng 可能性

ˈpossibly adverb

1. perhaps. `Will you have time to do it?' `Possibly.' moontlik, dalk رُبَّما може би talvez možná, snad möglicherweise muligvis ίσως, ενδεχομένως tal vez, a lo mejor, es posible; posiblemente võib-olla شاید mahdollisesti peut-êtreאולי शायद eventualno, možda talán mungkin mögulega forse たぶん 아마도 galbūt iespējams; varbūt mungkin misschienkanskje, muligensbyć może, możliwe كيداى شى talvez poate возможно; может быть možno mogoče možda kanske, kanhända บางที belki 也許 можливо شايد có thể 也许

2. in a way or manner that is possible. I'll come as fast as I possibly can; I can't possibly eat any more; Could you possibly lend me your pen? moontlik, dalk رُبَّما، من المُمْكِن възможно possivelmente podle své možnosti möglich, vielleicht overhovedet; på nogen måde; måske (είναι) δυνατόν lo más... que pueda/posible; de ninguna manera; ser posible iganes, kuidagi احتمالاً suinkin en son possible ככל האפשר संभवत moguće lehetőség szerint, ha csak egy mód van rá mungkin mögulega ; affatto, in alcun modo; per caso できる限り 가능한 kaip galima, niekaip, kaip nors pēc iespējas; iespējami; varbūt boleh mogelijkmuligmożliwie, ewentualnie احتمالاً possivelmente pe cât posibil; cumva по возможности podľa svojej možnosti možno; sploh moguće möjligt, möjligtvis, möjligen, [jag kommer så fort jag] någonsin [kan], [jag kan] omöjligen [äta mer] ที่เป็นไปได้ elverdiğince, mümkün olduğunca 可能地 по можливості ممکنہ طور پر có thể 可能地

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

possibly

→ مِنَ الـمُمْكِن možná muligvis möglicherweise πιθανόν posiblemente mahdollisesti éventuellement moguće possibilmente ことによると 아마도 mogelijk muligens prawdopodobnie possivelmente возможно möjligtvis อาจจะ olasılıkla có thể 可能地

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009