possibly

P3O1S1S1I1B3L1Y4
UK/ˈpɒs.ə.bli/Northern England/ˈpɒs.ɪ.bli/US, dialectal/ˈpɑ.sɪ.bli/US, dialectal/ˈpɑ.sə.bli/

adverb

Perhaps; indicates that the proposition may be true (is not certainly false) regardless of any facts or circumstances known to, stated by or implied by the speaker.

“I couldn't possibly be there on time.”

CommonScrabble 15

Meanings

adverbpossibly (comparative more possibly, superlative most possibly)

comparative more possibly · superlative most possibly

  1. Perhaps; indicates that the proposition may be true (is not certainly false) regardless of any facts or circumstances known to, stated by or implied by the speaker.

    Possibly, they will make gains in the midterm elections.

    5 more examples

    Near-synonyms: maybe, perhaps, mayhap, mayhaps, by chance, perchance, peradventure; conceivably

    It was possibly the costliest mistake in the organization's history.

    This rare and possibly unique specimen must be conserved.

    “Well, everything does point to either a major epeirogenic deformation, or possibly just a simple disruption of isostasy throughout the entire plate network.”

    2015, N. K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season, Orbit (2016), page 274

    That, however, is something the ZOA has seemed unwilling to do, on the theory that Bannon is a self-declared, and possibly even sincere, supporter of the Jewish state.

    2017 November 16, Bret Stephens, “Steve Bannon Is Bad for the Jews”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 10 Jul 2020

    Synonyms: potentially, maybe, perhaps, mayhap, mayhaps, by chance, perchance, peradventure · Antonyms: impossibly, inevitably, certainly, indubitably, undoubtably, undoubtedly, no doubt

  2. In the realm of possibility; indicates that the action may successfully be performed (is not impossible) regardless of any facts or circumstances known to, stated by or implied by the speaker that might limit the performance.

    I couldn't possibly be there on time.

    4 more examples

    I'm much stronger than you, so you can't possibly win.

    I couldn't possibly cheat on my wife.

    It seems unlikely, but, yes, they could possibly win even now.

    The police don't know him, and the information they have leads them to think he could possibly have murdered his wife.

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbPerhaps; indicates that the proposition may be true (is not certainly false) regardless of any facts or circumstances known to, stated by or implied by the speaker.

More synonyms by meaning

adverbto a degree possible of achievement or by possible means

Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Englishpossible
  2. Proto-Indo-European*leyg-
  3. Proto-Germanic*līką
  4. Englishpossibly

From possible + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian възможно
  • възможно (văzmožno)adverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Catalan possiblement
  • possiblementadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Danish muligvis, umuligt
  • muligvisadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • umuligtadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Dutch misschien, mogelijk
  • misschienadverb indicating that a proposition may be true or false
  • mogelijkadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Esperanto eble
  • ebleadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Finnish ehkä, mahdollisesti
  • ehkäadverb indicating that a proposition may be true or false
  • mahdollisestiadverb indicating that a proposition may be true or false
  • mahdollisestiadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • mitenkäänadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
French possiblement
  • possiblementadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
German vielleicht, eventuell
  • vielleichtadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • eventuelladverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • möglicherweiseadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • unmöglichadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Indonesian mungkin saja
  • mungkin sajaadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Latin fortasse, fortassis
  • fortasseadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • fortassisadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Portuguese possivelmente
  • possivelmenteadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Spanish buenamente, posiblemente
  • buenamenteadverb indicating that a proposition may be true or false
  • posiblementeadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • para nadaadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
  • buenamenteadverb indicating that an action may successfully be performed
Cite this entry
APA

possibly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/possibly

MLA

“possibly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/possibly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “possibly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/possibly.

Source: possibly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.