| 词汇 | thesaurus_articles_that-might-or-might-not-happen |
| 释义 | that might or might not happenThese words describe things that might happen or might not happen, but you cannot know for sure. One common word for this is possible. Possible is used when whatever you are talking about could happen, or could have happened, but you are not sure. I suppose it's possible that she just forgot my birthday, but it's unlikely. "We could just sell the house and move to a different country." "That's one possible course of action." The opposite of possible is impossible. Impossible is used to say that you know or believe that something cannot happen or exist, or cannot have happened the way people say it has happened. You're saying he held his breath for 10 full minutes? That's impossible! For other opposites of possible, see the article at impossible. Potential is used to say that something could happen or something could come into existence if the right conditions exist. Potential is used before a noun. She is being mentioned as a potential successor to the leader. We showed the house to a ton of potential buyers, but no one bid on it. If you can imagine that something could happen or exist, then it is imaginable, conceivable, or thinkable. Thinkable is less common than imaginable or conceivable. The pens came in every colour imaginable. It is conceivable that they'll agree to our terms, but I wouldn't bet on it. The existence of something like the internet would not have even been thinkable in Einstein's day. If there is a chance that something could happen or exist, especially because it agrees with facts or with something you know, you can say it is plausible. It is plausible that the rescuers reached the missing hiker in time, but unlikely. I don't think that's a plausible solution to the problem. Probable and likely are often compared to possible. Both of them refer to things that will probably happen, though the outcome is still not certain. It is probable that we will see further job losses in the sector. It's very likely that the party's favourite will not win the election. ""Do you think he'll be able to join us for dinner?" "It's not likely." In negative sentences, you can use the word earthly with no to say very strongly that the thing being talked about could not happen. Earthly is used before a noun. There's no earthly way that he can run that fast. You have no earthly reason to think such a thing! |
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