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POSSIBLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Something that can be done
Example:
politics is the art of the possible
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("possible" is a kind of...):
opening; possibility; possible action (a possible alternative)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An applicant who might be suitable
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("possible" is a kind of...):
applicant; applier (a person who requests or seeks something such as assistance or employment or admission)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Existing in possibility
Example:
possible uses of nuclear power
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
latent (potentially existing but not presently evident or realized)
Attribute:
potency; potential; potentiality (the inherent capacity for coming into being)
Derivation:
possibility (a possible alternative)
possibility (a future prospect or potential)
possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Capable of happening or existing
Example:
warned of possible consequences
Classified under:
Similar:
accomplishable; achievable; doable; manageable; realizable (capable of existing or taking place or proving true; possible to do)
affirmable; assertable (capable of being affirmed or asserted)
attainable; come-at-able (capable of being attained or accomplished)
contingent (possible but not certain to occur)
executable; feasible; practicable; viable; workable (capable of being done with means at hand and circumstances as they are)
mathematical (statistically possible though highly improbable)
Also:
likely (has a good chance of being the case or of coming about)
practical (concerned with actual use or practice)
realistic (aware or expressing awareness of things as they really are)
thinkable (capable of being conceived or imagined or considered)
Attribute:
possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)
Antonym:
impossible (not capable of occurring or being accomplished or dealt with)
Derivation:
possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)
Context examples:
One should always look for a possible alternative, and provide against it.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The recommended name will be dehydrogenase, wherever this is possible; as an alternative, reductase can be used.
(Oxidoreductase, NCI Thesaurus)
My plan may not be the best possible: I had not many minutes to form it in; but you must do a good deal.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
The most extreme possible amount or value; the highest point.
(Peak, NCI Thesaurus)
One of two possible results of a pass/fail assessment; when the result satisfies a condition.
(Pass, NCI Thesaurus)
It is possible to give all of the protein, calories, vitamins and minerals a person needs using parenteral nutrition.
(Parenteral nutrition, NCI Dictionary)
Possible treatments include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.
(Pancreatic Cancer, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
Possible but not necessary; left to personal choice.
(Optional, NCI Thesaurus)
A discrete statistical distribution whose variable has two possible values, success and failure, and which describes the number of trials necessary to reach a predefined number of successful trials.
(Negative Binomial Distribution, NCI Thesaurus)
Enlargement of the nostrils during breathing; although there are many possible causes, it can be a sign of respiratory distress in young infants.
(Nasal Flaring, NCI Thesaurus)
