I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an impossible dream (= about something that cannot happen )
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Having a number one record had seemed an impossible dream.
an impossible position (= a very difficult situation )
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She was furious with Guy for putting her in such an impossible position.
be hard/easy/impossible etc to please
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She’s hard to please. Everything has to be perfect.
be impossible to judge
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How much this affected their children was impossible to judge.
difficult/hard/impossible etc to credit
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We found his statement hard to credit.
difficult/impossible to quantify
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The damage caused to the tourist industry is difficult to quantify.
difficult/impossible/easy/possible etc to detect
impossible to resist
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The urge to give him a hug was almost impossible to resist.
impossible (= very difficult )
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I was in an impossible situation.
impossible
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She may argue that the task is impossible.
impossible/overwhelming odds (= making success seem extremely unlikely )
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They face impossible odds simply trying to get an education.
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They face overwhelming odds in their struggle to preserve the park.
it is difficult/hard/impossible to exaggerate sth (= used to say that something cannot be made to seem more important etc than it already is )
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It is difficult to exaggerate the strength of people’s feelings on this matter.
quite impossible
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I’m sorry. That’s quite impossible .
render sb/sth impossible/harmless/unconscious etc
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He was rendered almost speechless by the news.
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The blow to his head was strong enough to render him unconscious.
seemingly impossible
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We are attempting to do something that is seemingly impossible.
well-nigh impossible
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It will be well-nigh impossible to raise that amount of money.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
absolutely
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Initially scheduled for Basingstoke on February 9, the trial was postponed when heavy snowfalls made travel absolutely impossible for many athletes.
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Either he was insane and already suffering from hallucinations, or something absolutely impossible was happening.
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Lee was on a downslope, and it seemed absolutely impossible for him to finish close.
almost
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The discovery put the daughter in an almost impossible position.
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Johnny Cooper thought it almost impossible that three men carrying only sixty small bombs between them had created such havoc and destruction.
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When he sat down it was almost impossible to continue even a proforma debate.
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If he had any lingering memories, which was almost impossible to credit, they would not match what he now encountered.
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Apart from being almost impossible to cut, second hand shop windows are usually of inferior quality.
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Like many doctors still, scientists find it almost impossible to take on the notion of psychic energy.
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The public's trust that he truly represents them will be almost impossible to muster.
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Mathematicians of the finest calibre were essential for what then seemed the almost impossible task of breaking a code with astronomical permutations.
nearly
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Finding new staff is nearly impossible .
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Wuhan was in an uproar when they arrived, its streets nearly impossible because of the mobs.
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It was nearly impossible to get them to accept a surrender.
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The accumulation of obligations made it nearly impossible for the children to pry loose from the entanglement.
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Except in tourist hotels and restaurants, it is nearly impossible to pay with anything over a $ 5 note.
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It is possible to find safe harbor but nearly impossible to do so without a few blow-ups.
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It is difficult to accept such a change simply on intellectual grounds and nearly impossible to accept its implications.
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There are long, loose episodes here that are nearly impossible to follow and probably should have been cut.
nigh
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If the system makes too early a commitment on segmentation, recovery will be well nigh impossible . 4.2.2.3.
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And everybody knew it was mighty nigh impossible to quit them.
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But knowing is not doing, and many people find it well nigh impossible to kick the habit.
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Undermanning can make the task nigh impossible on some estates; on the others the approach is far too casual.
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The lieutenant was right: it would be nigh impossible to make everyone account for their movements.
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I just found it really hard, y'know. Nigh impossible .
physically
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They were just physically impossible to move in and out of the studios.
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The illogical, unlikely and physically impossible are treated as natural phenomena.
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His hypothesis, while unlikely, is neither logically nor physically impossible .
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But he realized that this was physically impossible .
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By the power of his imagination he was trying to do something that was physically impossible .
practically
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It was hot in the thin corridor, and the hanging husks made going forwards practically impossible .
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And it would be practically impossible to require a teacher to watch each student at all times.
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The ground was frozen, and digging foundations was practically impossible in such drastic weather conditions.
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These are a large number of possibilities and they would be practically impossible to distinguish by breeding experiments.
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This would lead to a mixing of chemicals and cause explosions that together with flooding would make evacuation practically impossible .
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Amongst black school leavers, finding a job is practically impossible .
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This reversal would have been practically impossible under Gats.
quite
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But why had nobody ever told her that it was quite impossible to keep clean whenever there were any children about?
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Very unlikely, though perhaps not quite impossible .
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Citrus shrubs are wonderfully fragrant evergreens, but quite impossible outdoors without protection.
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And the Presbyterians are quite impossible .
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It was purchased because the sound of the river made reaching him by any other means quite impossible .
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Though it was still quite impossible to judge the scale of the picture, the camera was obviously seeing for miles.
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Indeed it would have been quite impossible for it to have adopted any other attitude.
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It would have been quite impossible to finish the book but for the computer program I had been given.
seemingly
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However, the new minister on arrival soon found that he was faced with a seemingly impossible task.
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Thick white branches arch as far out as the tree is tall, sometimes at seemingly impossible angles.
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As far as motion video, in particular, is concerned, the constraints of available technology force multimedia into a seemingly impossible situation.
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Sexually menacing and effeminately feral, he prowled cat-like across the stage, perching on amps and lights in seemingly impossible positions.
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This is steering that manages the seemingly impossible: to be bad just about everywhere.
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The measure of his heart is how he deals with adversity and the way he overcomes a seemingly impossible situation.
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Not only a master, but a natural comedian, because he found humour in seemingly impossible situations.
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The men can freelance, depend on their height to make seemingly impossible moves.
virtually
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In reality, it was virtually impossible for the supporters of democracy to rally.
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It was virtually impossible to live in the United States in the late 1960s without being exposed to the growing antiwar movement.
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Just when it is vital to get policy on sterling right, the task has become virtually impossible .
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In the hectic days of I 96 I, such exploratory care and effort were virtually impossible .
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The position of the piece of gravel would have made it virtually impossible for the fish to dislodge it.
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In fact, without some anxiety it would be virtually impossible to be productive.
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Yet it is virtually impossible to think of a way in which they could be tested against one another.
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Such appeals were virtually impossible before an order in April 1996 by now-Chief of Naval Operations Adm.
■ NOUN
dream
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How long can you hang on to an impossible dream ?
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Territory for peace is not an impossible dream .
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Opponents to the listing see it as an expensive attempt at an impossible dream and a misuse of the Endangered Species Act.
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It sounds like an impossible dream .
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Was no one around to warn her this was an impossible dream ?
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Even six months ago, that seemed an impossible dream , but now, who knows?
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Unity now seems an impossible dream .
position
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The discovery put the daughter in an almost impossible position .
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Sexually menacing and effeminately feral, he prowled cat-like across the stage, perching on amps and lights in seemingly impossible positions .
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She felt illogically furious with Guy for putting her in such an impossible position .
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He imagined her screwed into some impossible position in her last spasm, her face looking grey and ugly on the pillow.
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It would put them in an impossible position if a legally-binding Living Will demanded what they considered unethical or bad medical practice.
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The council says it's in an impossible position .
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We find ourselves in an impossible position .
situation
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He was almost unbelieving of his impossible situation but on principle he didn't allow himself to feel jealous.
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The measure of his heart is how he deals with adversity and the way he overcomes a seemingly impossible situation .
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Clearly, it would put the practitioner in an impossible situation .
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As far as motion video, in particular, is concerned, the constraints of available technology force multimedia into a seemingly impossible situation .
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The point is of course that the puzzle itself is false in setting up an impossible situation .
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Not only a master, but a natural comedian, because he found humour in seemingly impossible situations .
task
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But was that really her fault - or was I presenting her with an impossible task ?
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The market permits people to make decisions and to act without going through the impossible task of collecting all the relevant information.
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This would not be an impossible task , given the state of information technology.
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An impossible task , the priests told him.
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It is of course an impossible task to examine the record of Marxism in such a short space as I have available.
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Under the block-grant funding system, this was an almost impossible task .
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With an empire of such a size, it was a difficult but not impossible task she had set herself.
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Dropping a combined 76 tons in a city the size of Philadelphia is hardly an impossible task .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
near perfect/impossible etc
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Colin was fulsome in his praise of the role of finance directors in delivering a near impossible set of financial reforms.
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Comets therefore tend to explode into vapor with near perfect efficiency and devastating power on impact.
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Conclusions: The velvet cloth is a near perfect black, but more expensive and less readily available than the other materials.
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In the latter case the specimen is of near perfect geometry for a torsion test.
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In the main, larval control would have to be near perfect in its efficiency and to allow very few adults to survive.
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So everything seemed okay: the barn was secure, the food supply was better than good and the terrain near perfect.
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That doesn't stop Hedley from dreaming of owning a video store, even though it seems near impossible.
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Unfortunately, strong winds curtailed the sport on a near perfect river level carrying about four inches extra, but fining off.
next to impossible/useless etc
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As a waterproof it was next to useless.
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But counting the dead is next to impossible.
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But he quickly learned that at his age it was next to impossible to find a professional job in San Francisco.
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Buying such a processor for less than $ 400 is next to impossible.
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Further, genuine educational change in these settings is next to impossible given the logistical difficulty of just getting the staff together.
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In the early months, this restraint was next to impossible for them to achieve.
physically possible/impossible
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Also, it isn't physically possible to sit and listen to a rap album all the way through.
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But he realized that this was physically impossible.
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By the power of his imagination he was trying to do something that was physically impossible.
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His hypothesis, while unlikely, is neither logically nor physically impossible.
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The illogical, unlikely and physically impossible are treated as natural phenomena.
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They were just physically impossible to move in and out of the studios.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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""The police suspect John.'' ""But that's impossible . He was with us the whole day.''
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an impossible task
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Dan's impossible to live with when he's sick.
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Her back injury has made it impossible for her to play tennis anymore.
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It's a seemingly impossible task.
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It was impossible that anyone could have survived the crash.
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Many fear that peace is now impossible .
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She's impossible ! Even when I offer to help her she always find some reason to complain.
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Sometimes an abortion seems like the only way out of an impossible situation.
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The street was narrow and it was impossible for the two buses to pass.
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The twins are so alike that it's impossible to tell them apart.
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We're supposed to do all this work by tomorrow, but it's impossible .
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When people leave prison, they often find it impossible to get a job.
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You're impossible !
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Another non-solution is to sign a treaty and then forget about it in a few years or declare it impossible to achieve.
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In the eighteenth century it seemed impossible to build a barn without creating a work of art.
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It is impossible to take a complex problem and rationally unravel the mess into logical interacting pieces.
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It is mathematically impossible for any Democratic rival to overhaul Clinton in the primary process.
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It is possible to find safe harbor but nearly impossible to do so without a few blow-ups.
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It was almost impossible to get some rest.
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It was tough, tough work, but not impossible .
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
make
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Apparently, Clare was able to watch midnight mass from her death-bed, though many walls should have made this impossible .
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Ellen persisted in trying to perform as directed, but her body decided to make the messages impossible to ignore.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Somehow without meaning to, she found that she had done the impossible for her: she had memorized that poem.