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Webster 1913 Edition

Possibility

Posˊsi-bil′i-ty

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Possibilities
(#)
.
[F.
possibilité
, L.
possibilitas
.]
1.
The quality or state of being possible; the power of happening, being, or existing.
“All possibility of error.”
Hooker.
“Latent possibilities of excellence.”
Johnson.
2.
That which is possible; a contingency; a thing or event that may not happen; a contingent interest, as in real or personal estate.
South. Burrill.

Webster 1828 Edition

Possibility

POSSIBIL'ITY

,
Noun.
[from possible.] The power of being or existing; the power of happening; the state of being possible. It often implies improbability or great uncertainty. There is a possibility that a new star may appear this night. There is a possibility of a hard frost in July in our latitude. It is not expedient to hazard much on the bare possibility of success. It is prudent to reduce contracts to writing, and to render them so explicit as to preclude the possibility of mistake or controversy.

Definition 2024

possibility

possibility

English

Noun

possibility ‎(plural possibilities)

  1. The quality of being possible.
  2. A thing possible; that which may take place or come into being.
    • 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
  3. An option or choice, usually used in context with future events.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

  • logical possibility
  • possibility theory

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • possibility in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • possibility in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Etymology

From Middle French possibilité, from Old French possibilite, from Late Latin possibilitās ‎(“possibility”), from Latin possibilis ‎(“possible”); see possible.

Pronunciation

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