impossibly

English

Etymology

From impossible +‎ -ly.

Adverb

impossibly (comparative more impossibly, superlative most impossibly)

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.

   • 2007 April 22, Julia Chaplin, “The Life of the After-Party”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     ANDRÉ SARAIVA, the slight 35-year-old graffitist and night-life entrepreneur, showed up at the Emmanuel Perrotin gallery in the Marais on a recent Saturday night in his trademark impossibly skinny jeans and a navy Thom Browne peacoat.

Antonyms

• possibly

Translations

in an impossible manner

• Catalan: impossiblement (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不可能地 (zh)

• Dutch: onmogelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: neeble
• Finnish: mahdottomasti (fi)
• French: impossiblement (fr)
• Greek: ακατορθωτώς (akatorthotós)
• Italian: impossibilmente
• Portuguese: impossivelmente
• Russian: невозмо́жно (ru) (nevozmóžno), невыполни́мо (nevypolnímo), неосуществи́мо (neosuščestvímo), нереа́льно (ru) (nereálʹno)
• Serbo-Croatian: nȅmogūće
• Spanish: imposiblemente (es)
• Swedish: omöjligen (sv)
• Vietnamese: một cách không thể

to the point of impossibility

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: չափազանց (hy) (čʻapʻazancʻ), սաստիկ (hy) (sastik), անտանելի (hy) (antaneli)
• Catalan: impossiblement (ca)
• Dutch: onmogelijk (nl)
• Finnish: mahdottoman
• French: impossiblement (fr)
• German: unmöglich (de)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Mandarin: 难以置信地
• Portuguese: impossivelmente
• Russian: невозмо́жно (ru) (nevozmóžno), невыполни́мо (nevypolnímo), непостижи́мо (ru) (nepostižímo), нереа́льно (ru) (nereálʹno)
• Spanish: imposiblemente (es)
• Vietnamese: tới mức không thể

contrary to what was thought possible

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: անհավանականորեն (anhavanakanoren)
• Dutch: ondenkbaar (nl), ongelooflijk (nl)
• Finnish: kuin ihmeen kautta
• French: incroyablement (fr)
• German: unheimlich (de)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: please add this translation if you can
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: impossivelmente
• Russian: невероя́тно (ru) (neverojátno), немы́слимо (ru) (nemýslimo), непостижи́мо (ru) (nepostižímo), неосуществи́мо (neosuščestvímo)
• Spanish: imposiblemente (es)
• Vietnamese: trái lại (vi)

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “impossibly”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “impossibly”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.