possibly

adverb

pos·​si·​bly ˈpä-sə-blē 

1

: in a possible manner : by any possibility

that's all she could possibly do

2

: by merest chance : perhaps

possibly he will recover

3

: it is possible or imaginable : conceivably

… a political libel which may possibly damage me.

—G. B. Shaw

Synonyms of possibly

• maybe
• perhaps
• probably

Examples of possibly in a Sentence

he may possibly recover after such a serious mistake, but it doesn't seem likely

Recent Examples on the Web

Last week, an employee who worked at a Russian anti-plague institute died, possibly from an unspecified form of plague. — Renée Onque, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026

This year, however, an exceptionally strong and possibly even record-breaking El Niño weather pattern — driven by warm ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific — is expected to make for a warm and wet winter in Europe. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Steven Spielberg is returning to Paramount’s cult Transformers franchise alongside longtime producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and with Michael Bay, long a master of mayhem, in talks to possibly direct the next tentpole for fanboys of vehicles. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026

Outrage was sparked again this year after reports that someone (or possibly multiple people) had shot at least half a dozen donkeys with arrows in a series of unsolved attacks. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing possibly

• where can (someone) (possibly) be

Rhymes for possibly

• impossibly

Kids Definition

possibly

adverb

pos·​si·​bly ˈpäs-ə-blē 

1

: by possible means : by any possibility

that cannot possibly be true

2

: perhaps

may possibly recover