Word family noun possibility ≠ impossibility the impossible possible adjective possible ≠ impossible adverb possibly ≠ impossibly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpossiblypos‧si‧bly /ˈpɒsəbli $ ˈpɑː-/ ●●● S1 W2 adverb 1 MAYBEused when saying that something may be true or likely, although you are not completely certain SYN perhaps, maybe This last task is possibly the most difficult. It will take three weeks, possibly longer. ‘Will you be here tomorrow?’ ‘Possibly.’ ‘Was it murder?’ ‘Quite possibly (=it is very likely).’2 spokenSURPRISED used to emphasize that you are very surprised or shocked by something, or you cannot understand it How could anyone possibly do such a thing?3 → could/can you possibly4 TRY TO DO OR GET somethingused to emphasize that someone will do or has done everything they can to help or to achieve something We shall be contributing as much as we possibly can to the campaign. Doctors did everything they possibly could to save his life.5 REFUSEused to emphasize that you cannot do something, or that something cannot or could not happen or be donecan’t/couldn’t possibly I can’t possibly allow you to go home in this weather. She couldn’t possibly have heard what was said.Examples from the Corpus
possibly• He looked at me as though I were very young and possibly a trifle slow.• Stone is possibly America's finest film director.• Could it possibly apply to human beings?• Many analysts believe interest rates will rise, possibly as early as next spring.• The examination hall was vast, with at least 700 or 800 student and quite possibly as many as 1000.• No such claim could possibly be made for the Smolensk, Kursk, or Poltava gubernii.• The cancer was possibly caused by exposure to asbestos.• How could anyone possibly do that to her?• Trade between the two countries began in the 11th century, possibly even earlier.• He's playing in the US Open Golf Championships - possibly for the last time.• You can't possibly go to all those stores in one day.• The cilia in the respiratory tract hasten the exit from the body of possibly harmful foreign material.• He's going to stay at least three weeks, possibly longer.• In the following pages a number of the more visible and possibly more successful and productive organizations are identified and described.• I have everything I could possibly need.• No-one else can possibly picture what you suffer.• They may insist on payment by instalments, possibly spread throughout the whole of your notice period.Quite possibly• Why did she churn so agitatedly in my stomach? Quite possibly I was the only one who found her frightful.• Yet another mill had been added to the growing Playne empire. Quite possibly it reverted to its former use.• Would an effective theory of how advertising works have helped? Quite possibly, it would have made little difference.How could ... possibly• How could I possibly countenance such thoughts?• I remember, that first night, sitting here thinking, how could we possibly do all that?• How could it possibly happen to him?• How could Luke Denner possibly have driven Mark to his death?• How could I possibly have forgotten that church?• How could she possibly know, since he had not set eyes on the girl?• How could she possibly know that he was wading in blood from a self-inflicted wound?• Who would drive us there and how could we possibly pay some one enough to take such a risk? 