impossibly
/ɪmˈpɒ.sɪb.li/adverb
impossibly is spelled I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-Y: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, impossibly means “Not possibly; in an impossible manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in impossibly?
| Letters | 10: I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is impossibly?
Impossibly appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce impossibly?
- /ɪmˈpɒ.sɪb.li/
Impossibly has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-impossibly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of impossibly
- more impossibly comparative
- most impossibly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does impossibly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Not possibly; in an impossible manner.
- 2
To the point of impossibility.
The topology problem was impossibly difficult.
- 3
Contrary to what had been thought possible.
Impossibly, after the water receded, the cat was found asleep on a chair jammed in a tree.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Impossibly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impossiblement , incroyablement |
| Portuguese | impossivelmente |
| Spanish | imposiblemente |
| German | unheimlich , unmöglich |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does impossibly come from?
From impossible + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).