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# possibly

«possibly» in Mova's school dictionary: **Perhaps; maybe — used when something could be true or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adverb (possibly)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Perhaps; maybe — used when something could be true or could happen but you are not sure. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#m1)

2) (with can/could) In any way possible: «I'll come as soon as I possibly can». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#m2)

3) (in polite requests) «Could you possibly help me?» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#m3)

4) (with can't) Used to say something is impossible: «I can't possibly eat all that». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In maths and science: «possibly» shows uncertainty — a possible event may or may not happen. In stories: «It was possibly the best day ever» shows strong feeling with a little doubt. In polite talk: «Could you possibly…?» makes a request very polite. Similar: maybe, perhaps, probably (stronger).

### examples

- It will possibly rain later. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x1)
- Could you possibly open the window? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x2)
- That was possibly the best cake I've ever eaten. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x3)
- I can't possibly finish all this homework tonight! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x4)
- "Will you come?" "Possibly." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x5)
- We'll get there as fast as we possibly can. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x6)
- What more can you possibly want?" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/#x7)

### note

Adverb from «possible» — drop e, add -ly: possibly (not «possiblely»). «Possibly» is less sure than «probably»: probably = likely, possibly = it could happen.

### In the corpora

- [In some caves dwarf crocodiles have turned orange, possibly from living among bat droppings.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/160-the-congo-river/8/)
- [In about 5 billion years the Sun will become a red giant, swallowing Mercury and Venus and possibly the Earth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/space/19-how-stars-die/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «possibly» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/possibly/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.