impossible
/ɪmˈpɒs.ɪ.bəl/
"impossible" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“impossible” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,724 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #1,724
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not possible; not able to be done or happen.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | impossible |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɪmˈpɒs.ɪ.bəl/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #1,724 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “impossible” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for impossible is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪmˈpɒs.ɪ.bəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,724 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for impossible, with forms such as "immpossible", "imopssible", and "imposible". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "impossibly", "impassable", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English impossible, equivalent to im- + possible. The correct English form is impossible, spelled I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E.
Definition
- 1Not possible; not able to be done or happen.
- 2Very difficult to deal with.
- 3imaginary
Etymology
From Middle English impossible, equivalent to im- + possible.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: immpossible,imopssible,imposible,imposisble,impossable,impossbile,impossibble,impossibel,impossiblle,impossilbe,imppossible,impsosible,ipmossible,mipossible
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of impossible - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “impossible”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪmˈpɒs.ɪ.bəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “impossibly” - see the side-by-side comparison. impossible vs impossibly
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.