possible

possible
[[t]pɒ̱sɪb(ə)l[/t]]
♦
possibles
1) ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ to-inf If it is possible to do something, it can be done.

If it is possible to find out where your brother is, we shall...

Everything is possible if we want it enough...

This morning he had tried every way possible to contact her...

Live as you like, leave home if you want - that was never possible when I was young...

It's been a beautiful evening and you have made it all possible.

2) ADJ: usu ADJ n A possible event is one that might happen.

He referred the matter to the Attorney General for possible action against several newspapers...

Her family is discussing a possible move to America...

One possible solution, if all else fails, is to take legal action...

Department officials have warned of possible terrorist attacks.

Syn:
Ant:
3) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ that (vagueness) If you say that it is possible that something is true or correct, you mean that although you do not know whether it is true or correct, you accept that it might be.

It is possible that there's an explanation for all this...

It was possible that Harry himself did not know what he had intended to do.

Syn:
Ant:
4) ADJ: as adv/pron as ADJ If you do something as soon as possible, you do it as soon as you can. If you get as much as possible of something, you get as much of it as you can.

Please make your decision as soon as possible...

Mrs. Pollard decided to learn as much as possible about the People's Republic of China...

Michael sat down as far away from her as possible...

Buy fresh produce as often as possible.

5) ADJ: adj-superl ADJ n, adj-superl n ADJ (emphasis) You use possible with superlative adjectives to emphasize that something has more or less of a quality than anything else of its kind.

They have joined the job market at the worst possible time...

We expressed in the clearest possible way our disappointment, hurt and anger...

He is doing the best job possible.

6) ADJ (politeness) You use possible in expressions such as `if possible' and `if at all possible' when stating a wish or intention, to show that although this is what you really want, you may have to accept something different.

I need to see you, right away if possible...

It is wise to get insurance cover for this kind of care, if at all possible.

7) ADJ: ADJ n If you describe someone as, for example, a possible Prime Minister, you mean that they may become Prime Minister.

Government sources are now openly speculating about a possible successor for Dr Lawrence...

Bradley has been considered a possible presidential contender himself.

Syn:
N-COUNT
Possible is also a noun.

Kennedy, who divorced wife Joan in 1982, was tipped as a presidential possible... He had been on the Nobel Prize committee's list of possibles.

8) N-SING: the N The possible is everything that can be done in a situation.

He is a democrat with the skill, nerve, and ingenuity to push the limits of the possible.


English dictionary. 2008.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:
, / , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • possible — [ pɔsibl ] adj. et n. m. • 1265; lat. imp. possibilis I ♦ Adj. 1 ♦ (Activités, réalités humaines) Qui peut exister, qu on peut faire. ⇒ concevable, envisageable, faisable, réalisable. Nous avons fait tout ce qui est humainement possible pour le… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • possible — Possible. adj. de tout genre. Qui peut estre, ou qui peut se faire. Ce que vous dites est possible. cela est difficile, mais pourtant possible. quelques uns tiennent que la pierre philosophale est possible. les estres possibles. est il possible… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • possible — Possible, Possibilis, Quintil. Autant qu il est possible, Quoad potest. S il t est possible, Siquid poteris. Il n en ira pas ainsi, Il n est pas possible, Non sic futurum est, Non potest. Il n est pas possible de leur aider si facilement, Non tam …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • possible — 1 Possible, practicable, feasible can mean capable of being realized. Possible is used to dispel doubt that something may or does occur or exist or may come to exist {the regime of religious toleration has become possible only because we have… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • possible — [päs′ə bəl] adj. [OFr < L possibilis < posse, to be able: see POTENT] 1. that can be; capable of existing 2. that can be in the future; that may or may not happen 3. a) that can be done, known, acquired, selected, used, etc., depending on… …   English World dictionary

  • Possible — Pos si*ble, a. [F., fr. L. possibilis, fr. posse to be able, to have power; potis able, capable + esse to be. See {Potent}, {Am}, and cf. {Host} a landlord.] Capable of existing or occurring, or of being conceived or thought of; able to happen;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • possible — ► ADJECTIVE 1) capable of existing, happening, or being achieved. 2) that may be so, but that is not certain or probable. ► NOUN 1) a possible candidate for a job or member of a team. 2) (the possible) that which is likely or achievable. ORIGIN …   English terms dictionary

  • possible — I adjective achievable, anticipated, apt, attainable, believable, capable, cogitable, conceivable, credible, feasible, grantable, imaginable, liable, likely, obtainable, performable, plausible, potential, probable, promising, rational, realizable …   Law dictionary

  • possible — c.1300, from L. possibilis that can be done, from posse be able (see POTENT (Cf. potent)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • possible — [adj] likely, attainable accessible, achievable, adventitious, advisable, available, breeze*, can do*, cinch, conceivable, credible, dependent, desirable, doable, dormant, duck soup*, easy as pie*, expedient, feasible, fortuitous, hopeful,… …   New thesaurus

  • possible — (po si bl ) adj. 1°   Qui peut être, qui peut se faire. Il est possible que cela se fasse. Il est possible de faire cela. •   Est il possible que nous travaillions à la structure et à la cadence d une période, comme s il y allait de notre vie ?,… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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