impossibility
/ɪmˌpɒsɪˈbɪlɪti
/noun (plural impossibilities) [mass noun]
1The state or fact of being impossible: the impossibility of finding reliable staff...
- The sheer impossibility of summarising Oracle Night is in fact a mark of the book's strength.
- In fact, the impossibility of answering the question is his very reason for asking it.
- How do you explain the apparent impossibility of your words?
1.1 [count noun] An impossible thing: they believe that a world at peace is an impossibility...
- I could believe in impossibilities, but you made them realities.
- Previously conceived impossibilities danced in all their minds as they forged forward.
- After eliminating the impossibilities, the master of deduction explained, he had been left with one simple irrevocable conclusion, as plain as the nose on one's face.
Origin
Late Middle English: from French impossibilite or Latin impossibilitas, from impossibilis, from in- 'not' + possibilis (see possible).