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impossible

   Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
im·pos·si·ble  (m-ps-bl)
adj.
1. Incapable of having existence or of occurring.
2. Not capable of being accomplished: an impossible goal.
3. Unacceptable; intolerable: impossible behavior.
4. Extremely difficult to deal with or tolerate: an impossible child; an impossible situation.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin impossibilis : in-, not; see in-1 + possibilis, possible; see possible.]

im·possi·bly adv.

impossible [ɪmˈpɒsəbəl]
adj
1. incapable of being done, undertaken, or experienced
2. incapable of occurring or happening
3. absurd or inconceivable; unreasonable it's impossible to think of him as a bishop
4. Informal intolerable; outrageous those children are impossible
impossibleness  n
impossibly  adv
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.impossibleimpossible - something that cannot be done; "his assignment verged on the impossible"
impossible action, impossibility - an alternative that is not available
Adj.1.impossible - not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with; "an impossible dream"; "an impossible situation"
hopeless - without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success; "in an agony of hopeless grief"; "with a hopeless sigh he sat down"
impractical - not practical; not workable or not given to practical matters; "refloating the ship proved impractical because of the expense"; "he is intelligent but too impractical for commercial work"; "an impractical solution"
unrealistic - not realistic; "unrealistic expectations"; "prices at unrealistic high levels"
insurmountable, unsurmountable - not capable of being surmounted or overcome; "insurmountable disadvantages"
unthinkable - incapable of being conceived or considered
possible - capable of happening or existing; "a breakthrough may be possible next year"; "anything is possible"; "warned of possible consequences"
2.impossibleimpossible - totally unlikely                    
unthinkable - incapable of being conceived or considered
3.impossibleimpossible - used of persons or their behavior; "impossible behavior"; "insufferable insolence"
intolerable, unbearable, unendurable - incapable of being put up with; "an intolerable degree of sentimentality"

impossible
adjective
1. not possible, out of the question, impracticable, unfeasible, beyond the bounds of possibility It was impossible to get in because no one knew the password.
2. unachievable, hopeless, out of the question, vain, unthinkable, inconceivable, far-fetched, unworkable, implausible, unattainable, unobtainable, beyond you, not to be thought of You shouldn't promise what's impossible.
unachievable possible, likely, reasonable, plausible, conceivable, imaginable
4. intolerable, unbearable, insufferable, painful, insupportable, unendurable, excruciating, beyond bearing, not to be borne This woman is impossible, she thought.
Quotations
"It is only the impossible that is possible for God. He has given over the possible to the mechanics of matter and the autonomy of his creatures" [Simone Weil A War of Religions]
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast" [Lewis Carroll Through the Looking-Glass]
Translations
impossible [ɪmˈpɒsəbl]
A. ADJ
1. (= not possible) [task, dream] → imposible
impossible!¡imposible!, ¡no es posible!
it's almost impossible to read her writingleer su letra es casi imposible, es casi imposible leer su letra
this cooker is impossible to clean!¡esta cocina es imposible de limpiar!, ¡limpiar esta cocina es imposible!
the fog made it impossible to see very farla niebla impedía ver a mucha distancia
it is impossible for me to leave nowme es imposible salir ahora
it's not impossible thatexiste la posibilidad de que ...
to be physically impossibleser físicamente imposible EASY, DIFFICULT, IMPOSSIBLE
2. (= not tolerable) [person] → insufrible, insoportable; [situation] → insostenible
to be in an impossible positionhallarse en una situación insostenible
you're impossible!¡eres insufrible or insoportable!
B. N
the impossiblelo imposible
to ask for/do the impossiblepedir/hacer lo imposible

impossible [ɪmˈpɒsəbəl]
adj
[task, demand, enterprise] → impossible
She makes impossible demands of her employees → Elle a des exigences impossibles envers ses employés.
sth is impossible to ...
These feelings are impossible to ignore → Ce sont des sentiments qu'il est impossible d'ignorer.
it is impossible to ...
It is impossible to understand what's going on → Il est impossible de comprendre ce qui se passe.
it is impossible for sb to do sth
It is impossible for me to leave → Il m'est impossible de partir.
It's impossible for me to leave now → Il m'est impossible de partir maintenant.
(= very difficult) [situation, position] → impossible
[person] (= unreasonable) → impossible
n
the impossible → l'impossible m

impossible
adj
unmöglich; dreamunerfüllbar; impossible!ausgeschlossen!, unmöglich!; it is impossible for him to leave/do thater kann unmöglich gehen/das unmöglich tun; this cooker is impossible to cleanes ist unmöglich, diesen Herd sauber zu kriegen; I find it impossible to understand why she resignedich finde es unverständlich or unbegreiflich or ich kann nicht begreifen, warum sie gekündigt hat; to make it impossible for somebody to do somethinges jdm unmöglich machen, etw zu tun
(= hopeless) situation, positionaussichtslos; I am faced with an impossible choice/decisionich stehe vor einer unmöglichen Wahl/Entscheidung; you put me in an impossible positiondu bringst mich in eine unmögliche Lage
(inf: = intolerable) personunerträglich, unmöglich (inf); you’re impossible!du bist unmöglich! (inf)
nUnmögliche(s) nt; to ask for the impossibleUnmögliches verlangen; to do the impossible (in general) → Unmögliches tun; (in particular case) → das Unmögliche tun

impossible [ɪmˈpɒsəbl] adj
a. (task, enterprise, situation) → impossibile
it is impossible for me to leave now → mi è impossibile andar via adesso
it is impossible/not impossible for her to do that → le è impossibile/non le è impossibile farlo
to make it impossible for sb to do sth → mettere qn nell'impossibilità di fare qc
to do the impossible → fare l'impossibile
b. (fam) (child, person, difficult, intolerable) → impossibile, insopportabile

impossible [ɪmˈpɒsəbl] adj
a. (task, enterprise, situation) → impossibile
it is impossible for me to leave now → mi è impossibile andar via adesso
it is impossible/not impossible for her to do that → le è impossibile/non le è impossibile farlo
to make it impossible for sb to do sth → mettere qn nell'impossibilità di fare qc
to do the impossible → fare l'impossibile
b. (fam) (child, person, difficult, intolerable) → impossibile, insopportabile

impossible
adj impossible [imˈposəbl]
1 that cannot be or be done It is impossible to sing and drink at the same time; an impossible task. onmoontlik غَيْر مُمْكِن، مُسْتَحيل невъзможен nemožný umulig unmöglich αδύνατος, ανέφικτος imposible võimatu غیر ممکن mahdoton impossible בִּלתִי אֶפשָרִי असम्भव nemoguć lehetetlen mustahil ómögulegur, ógerlegur impossibile 不可能な 불가능한 neįmanomas neiespējams mustahil onmogelijk umulig, uoverkommelig niemożliwy impossível impo­si­bil невозможный nemožný nemogoč nemoguć omöjlig ซึ่งเป็นไปไม่ได้ imkânsız, olanaksız 不可能的 неможливий, нездійсненний نا ممکن không thể
2 hopelessly bad or wrong That child's behaviour is quite impossible. onuithoudbaar لا يُطاق неприемлив nesnesitelný umulig unmöglich ανυπόφορος, απαράδεκτος imposible võimatu ناخوشایند mahdoton insupportable בלתי נסבל अशक्य, असाध्य nevjerojatan képtelen sangat buruk óþolandi insopportabile ひどい 견딜 수 없는 nepakenčiamas neciešams; nepanesams sangat buruk onmogelijk umulig nieznośny impossível insuportabil несносный neznesiteľný, neprijateľný nemogoč nemoguć omöjlig, outhärdlig ซึ่งไม่มีทาง; ซึ่งไม่น่าจะเกิดขึ้น çekilmez, tahammül edilemez 難以忍受的 нестерпний, обурливий نا قابل برداشت quá đáng
adv imˈpossibly
onmoontlik بِصورة غَير مُمْكِنَه невъзможно nemožně håbløst; umuligt unmöglich ανυπόφορα de manera imposible võimatult بطور غیر ممکن mahdottomasti de façon impossible בְּאוֹפֶן בִּלתִי נִסבַּל असम्भाव्य रूप में nemoguće lehetetlenül secara mustahil ómögulega in modo impossibile ありそうにもなく 불가능하게 neįmanomai neiespējami; neciešami dengan mustahil onmogelijk umulig, uoverkommelig niemożliwie impossivelmente imposibil невозможно nemožne nemogoče nemoguće omöjligt อย่างเป็นไปไม่ได้ inanılmaz derecede, son derecede 不可能地 неможливо نا ممکن طور پر một cách không thể
n imˌpossiˈbility
onmoontlikheid إسْتِحالَه، أمْرٌ مُسْتَحيل невъзможност nemožnost umulighed die Unmöglichkeit η ιδιότητα του να είναι κτ. ανέφιτκο imposibilidad võimatus امکان ناپذیری؛ چیز غیر ممکن mahdottomuus impossibilité חוֹסֶר אֶפשָרוּת असम्भवता nemogućnost lehetetlenség, képtelenség kemustahilan ómöguleiki; e-ð ómögulegt eða óhugsandi impossibilità 不可能 불가능 neįmanomas dalykas neiespējamība kemustahilan onmogelijkheid umulighet niemożliwość impossibilidade imposibilitate невозможность nemožnosť nemožnost nemogućnost omöjlighet ความเป็นไปไม่ได้ imkânsızlık, olmayacak şey 不可能 неможливість نا ممکن sựkhông thể làm được

impossible مستحيل nemožný umulig unmöglich ανέφικτος imposible mahdoton impossible nemoguć impossibile 不可能な 불가능한 onmogelijk umulig niemożliwy impossível невозможный omöjlig ที่เป็นไปไม่ได้ imkansız không thể 不可能的


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In general, the impossible must be justified by reference to artistic requirements, or to the higher reality, or to received opinion.
It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.
"One must let you drink your coffee in peace, at least," said Matvey, in the affectionately gruff tone with which it was impossible to be angry.
 
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