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单词 possibility
释义

Definition of possibility in English:

possibility

nounPlural possibilities ˌpɒsɪˈbɪlɪtiˌpɑsəˈbɪlədi
  • 1A thing that may happen or be the case.

    relegation remains a distinct possibility
    with clause there was the possibility that he might be turned down
    Example sentencesExamples
    • One might object that his account draws on the possibility of a merely possible world.
    • Then we talked about the possibility of Amy writing a book for us - many years before she actually did.
    • The two men discussed the possibility of staging a 1980s music show in Wiltshire.
    • You know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the bomb.
    • There was always the possibility of a change in personal or family fortune.
    • The question remains whether the possibility of any such system is dependent on the existence of language.
    • It was there he discovered the possibility of using steel as a sculptural medium.
    • Now I'm thinking about the possibility of spending a year volunteering abroad.
    • Feeling remorse, there is always the possibility of applying the remedy to purify any wrong we have done.
    • It transcends reality and opens up, for a moment, the possibility of a better life.
    • Who can turn down the possibility of winning £1000 for what they do everyday anyway?
    • Maybe they were celebrating the possibility of their recognition as equal.
    • It was a hope I was holding onto, because the possibility of success was so attractive.
    • Accepting what you have and enjoying it, but always being open to the possibility of something better.
    • She had found a scratch-card which promised her the possibility of wealth beyond her tiny dreams.
    • There is always a possibility of unfairness and if a mistake is made nothing can be done about it.
    • I mean as well as the possibility of failure, there's also the chance of success that is just as heart racing.
    • There may be risks in some forms of exchange, but the possibility of exchange is always present.
    • Of course, students always have the possibility of getting a student bank account.
    • Originally a garden, by then the site was home to a large shed that had the possibility of being converted into a house.
    Synonyms
    chance, likelihood, probability, prospect, hope
    risk, hazard, danger, fear
    1. 1.1mass noun The state or fact of being possible; likelihood.
      there is no possibility of any government achieving this level of expenditure
      Example sentencesExamples
      • There was always the possibility of getting shot if the clientele disapproved of the set list.
      • Be alert to the possibility of rare but potentially serious underlying causes.
      • All serving members have considered the possibility of having someone shoot at them.
      • I'm investigating the possibility of consolidating my debts into my mortgage.
      • The Fenians always faced the possibility of being infiltrated by British spies.
      • Because every time we did there was always the possibility of a major collision.
      • In such a case there is no possibility of double jeopardy and no risk of double recovery.
      • The radiation emitted is, as you say, miniscule - so small that there is no possibility of harm.
      • Try to find a quiet place that has no possibility of disturbance or interruption.
      • Within minutes, the plane bombed the front and rear of the convoy, sealing off the possibility of escape.
      • But there was no possibility of that because racial subjugation was enforced by law.
      • I want to look in to the possibility of a rooftop garden on the roof of our apartment parking garage.
      • It also had unconquered tribes with whom there was always the possibility of war.
      • There was no possibility of that site not contaminating the two streams and the harbour.
      • In soccer and boxing there is also the possibility of brain damage due to repeated blows to the head.
      • At this stage his future is very much up in the air as is the possibility of him remaining a United player.
      • Because of his actions, he knows there can be no possibility of reconciliation.
      • When women and men live in a society, the possibility of violations always exists.
      • At the moment the possibility of feedback is low, though the potential already exists.
      • This work is making the possibility of xenotransplants much closer than ever before.
      Synonyms
      feasibility, practicability, chances, odds, attainability, achievability, potentiality, conceivability, probability
      opportunity, scope
      rare workableness
    2. 1.2 A thing that may be chosen or done out of several possible alternatives.
      one possibility is to allow all firms to participate
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Which of all the uneliminated alternative possibilities may not properly be ignored?
      • Which alternative possibilities in the Third Reich were never even entertained as such by the leadership?
      • Building a heavy rail link would prove much more costly, but would allow greater possibilities.
      • And this sort of self-expression does not require alternative possibilities.
      • An alternative to this possibility is for a midwife to be present at a hospital birth.
      • Rather, they are contested systems that allow competing possibilities to be realised.
      • This was true even though an education by Catholic monks offered alternative possibilities.
      • Several spaghetti-based dishes are available, as well as a choice of pork possibilities.
      • Another possibility would see extra cash given to bring down landing charges.
      • Choices and possibilities forked off in all directions, leading off into futures unknown.
      • He was not defensive, and prepared to admit alternative possibilities as possibilities.
      • All three possibilities might allow for high fitness of hybrids in a new environment.
      • Here is the opportunity to study, with an open mind, alternative possibilities.
      • The obvious choice among these three possibilities is the first.
      • Can you talk about how and why it was humanism that triumphed over alternative possibilities?
      • Out of all you could have become, out of all the possibilities your freedom allowed you, you chose this.
      • It was curated to allow a range of possibilities to be seen together.
      • It is because of this that we are able to see the hint of the possibilities of some real solutions.
      • This theoretically allowed eight possibilities of their combination in address.
      Synonyms
      option, alternative, choice, course of action, solution, recourse
      informal bet
    3. 1.3possibilities Unspecified qualities of a promising nature; potential.
      the house was old but it had possibilities
      Example sentencesExamples
      • One of the most promising possibilities is the developing of flour-based food products.
      • There, he realised his own potential and possibilities in working with wood and granite.
      • Obviously, our hopes have been bigger than the qualities and possibilities of these people.
      • The potentialities and possibilities of the electronic medium have been put to use to achieve this end.
      • I seem to remember this sort of thing being one of the promised possibilities of stem cell research.
      Synonyms
      potential, potentiality, promise, prospects
      capability, ability, aptitude, capacity
      informal what it takes

Origin

Late Middle English: from Old French possibilite, from late Latin possibilitas, from possibilis 'able to be done' (see possible).

 
 

Definition of possibility in US English:

possibility

nounˌpäsəˈbilədēˌpɑsəˈbɪlədi
  • 1A thing that may happen or be the case.

    with clause there was always the possibility that he might be turned down
    the theoretical possibility of a chain reaction
    Example sentencesExamples
    • There may be risks in some forms of exchange, but the possibility of exchange is always present.
    • You know how we've always talked about the possibility of something going wrong with the bomb.
    • Who can turn down the possibility of winning £1000 for what they do everyday anyway?
    • Maybe they were celebrating the possibility of their recognition as equal.
    • Of course, students always have the possibility of getting a student bank account.
    • I mean as well as the possibility of failure, there's also the chance of success that is just as heart racing.
    • One might object that his account draws on the possibility of a merely possible world.
    • Feeling remorse, there is always the possibility of applying the remedy to purify any wrong we have done.
    • The two men discussed the possibility of staging a 1980s music show in Wiltshire.
    • She had found a scratch-card which promised her the possibility of wealth beyond her tiny dreams.
    • Then we talked about the possibility of Amy writing a book for us - many years before she actually did.
    • It transcends reality and opens up, for a moment, the possibility of a better life.
    • There was always the possibility of a change in personal or family fortune.
    • It was there he discovered the possibility of using steel as a sculptural medium.
    • There is always a possibility of unfairness and if a mistake is made nothing can be done about it.
    • Accepting what you have and enjoying it, but always being open to the possibility of something better.
    • Originally a garden, by then the site was home to a large shed that had the possibility of being converted into a house.
    • Now I'm thinking about the possibility of spending a year volunteering abroad.
    • The question remains whether the possibility of any such system is dependent on the existence of language.
    • It was a hope I was holding onto, because the possibility of success was so attractive.
    Synonyms
    chance, likelihood, probability, prospect, hope
    1. 1.1 The state or fact of being likely or possible; likelihood.
      there was no possibility of recompense for him
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Because of his actions, he knows there can be no possibility of reconciliation.
      • When women and men live in a society, the possibility of violations always exists.
      • In such a case there is no possibility of double jeopardy and no risk of double recovery.
      • The radiation emitted is, as you say, miniscule - so small that there is no possibility of harm.
      • But there was no possibility of that because racial subjugation was enforced by law.
      • Be alert to the possibility of rare but potentially serious underlying causes.
      • This work is making the possibility of xenotransplants much closer than ever before.
      • It also had unconquered tribes with whom there was always the possibility of war.
      • I'm investigating the possibility of consolidating my debts into my mortgage.
      • At this stage his future is very much up in the air as is the possibility of him remaining a United player.
      • Within minutes, the plane bombed the front and rear of the convoy, sealing off the possibility of escape.
      • All serving members have considered the possibility of having someone shoot at them.
      • I want to look in to the possibility of a rooftop garden on the roof of our apartment parking garage.
      • The Fenians always faced the possibility of being infiltrated by British spies.
      • In soccer and boxing there is also the possibility of brain damage due to repeated blows to the head.
      • There was no possibility of that site not contaminating the two streams and the harbour.
      • At the moment the possibility of feedback is low, though the potential already exists.
      • There was always the possibility of getting shot if the clientele disapproved of the set list.
      • Because every time we did there was always the possibility of a major collision.
      • Try to find a quiet place that has no possibility of disturbance or interruption.
      Synonyms
      feasibility, practicability, chances, odds, attainability, achievability, potentiality, conceivability, probability
    2. 1.2 A thing that may be chosen or done out of several possible alternatives.
      one possibility is to allow all firms to participate
      there are three possibilities for obtaining extra money
      Example sentencesExamples
      • An alternative to this possibility is for a midwife to be present at a hospital birth.
      • This theoretically allowed eight possibilities of their combination in address.
      • It is because of this that we are able to see the hint of the possibilities of some real solutions.
      • Here is the opportunity to study, with an open mind, alternative possibilities.
      • Another possibility would see extra cash given to bring down landing charges.
      • He was not defensive, and prepared to admit alternative possibilities as possibilities.
      • It was curated to allow a range of possibilities to be seen together.
      • And this sort of self-expression does not require alternative possibilities.
      • Can you talk about how and why it was humanism that triumphed over alternative possibilities?
      • This was true even though an education by Catholic monks offered alternative possibilities.
      • Several spaghetti-based dishes are available, as well as a choice of pork possibilities.
      • Rather, they are contested systems that allow competing possibilities to be realised.
      • Out of all you could have become, out of all the possibilities your freedom allowed you, you chose this.
      • Building a heavy rail link would prove much more costly, but would allow greater possibilities.
      • The obvious choice among these three possibilities is the first.
      • Which alternative possibilities in the Third Reich were never even entertained as such by the leadership?
      • All three possibilities might allow for high fitness of hybrids in a new environment.
      • Which of all the uneliminated alternative possibilities may not properly be ignored?
      • Choices and possibilities forked off in all directions, leading off into futures unknown.
      Synonyms
      option, alternative, choice, course of action, solution, recourse
    3. 1.3possibilities Unspecified qualities of a promising nature; potential.
      the house was old but it had possibilities
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Obviously, our hopes have been bigger than the qualities and possibilities of these people.
      • There, he realised his own potential and possibilities in working with wood and granite.
      • I seem to remember this sort of thing being one of the promised possibilities of stem cell research.
      • One of the most promising possibilities is the developing of flour-based food products.
      • The potentialities and possibilities of the electronic medium have been put to use to achieve this end.
      Synonyms
      potential, potentiality, promise, prospects

Origin

Late Middle English: from Old French possibilite, from late Latin possibilitas, from possibilis ‘able to be done’ (see possible).

 
 
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更新时间:2024/9/21 0:36:16