[syn: possibility, possible action, opening]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Possibility \Pos`si*bil"i*ty\, n.; pl. Possibilities. [F.
possibilit['e], L. possibilitas.]
1. The quality or state of being possible; the power of
happening, being, or existing. "All possibility of error."
--Hooker. "Latent possibilities of excellence." --Johnson.
[1913 Webster]
2. That which is possible; a contingency; a thing or event
that may not happen; a contingent interest, as in real or
personal estate. --South. Burrill.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
possibility
n 1: a future prospect or potential; "this room has great
possibilities"
2: capability of existing or happening or being true; "there is
a possibility that his sense of smell has been impaired"
[syn: possibility, possibleness] [ant: impossibility,
impossibleness]
3: a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is
not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts
or phenomena; "a scientific hypothesis that survives
experimental testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he
proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in
chemical practices" [syn: hypothesis, possibility,
theory]
4: a possible alternative; "bankruptcy is always a possibility"
[syn: possibility, possible action, opening]