2020-12-01
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด P – possible & probable
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง possible = ‘POS-uh-buhl’
ออกเสียง probable = ‘PROP-uh-buhl’
Dictionary.com
SYNONYM STUDY FOR POSSIBLE
Possible, feasible, practicable
refer to that which may come about or take place without
prevention by serious obstacles.
That which is possible is naturally able or even likely to happen,
other circumstances being equal:
Discovery of a new source of plutonium may be possible.
Feasible refers to the easewith which something can be done
and implies a high degree ofdesirability for doing it:
This plan is the most feasible.
Practicable applies to that which can be done with
the means that are at hand and with conditionsas they are:
We ascended the slope as far as was practicable.
Dictionary.com Dictionary.com
How Does Adding The Word “Possible” Change News?
by Ashley Austrew
What is a possible hate crime? A possible sexual assault?
A possible terrorist attack?
Crime-related news is often reported in the media using tentative language
—like the word possible
—that makes it seem as if there is room for doubt
as to whether or not a crime was actually committed.
But in many instances,
either through video, photos, or the victim’s own words and evidence,
it is obvious to everyone that a crime was definitelycommitted.
So, why do journalists keep using the word possible?
For many years,
a common word journalistsused in crime reporting was allege.
To allege means “to assert something without proof,”
especially when a person has been accused of or arrested for,
but not legally convicted of, some crime.
But, the Columbia Journalism Review stated in 2009 that allege was being misused.
As the review explains, alleged is, in this context, synonymous with suspected,
and “calling someone ‘an alleged thief’ is all but saying ‘we know you did it.'”
The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, moreover,
cautions that journalists should avoid any suggestion
that they are personally making an allegation or accusation.
For this reason, the stylebook instructs journalists
to instead use words like apparent, ostensible, or reputed.
Possible is also a similar qualifier in this vein,
and it likely evolved from those instructions.
What does possible mean?
Journalists use a qualifier like possible for information
that is unconfirmed or claims that are unproven.
Possible comes from the Latin possibilis, “that may be done,”
in turn from the verb posse, “to be able.”
Recorded in English by the late 1300s,
possible more generally describes something “
that may or can be, exist, happen, or be done.”
But, the adjective has evolved to imply that
something may or may not be true
—and that’s why many people find possible problematic
when it’s used in regard to crimes.
When actor Jussie Smollet, for instance, was hospitalized in late January 2019,
many people were outraged when media outlets reportedon the attack
as a “possible hate crime.”
Smollet said attackers yelled racist and homophobic slurs as they beat him,
poured chemicals on him, and wrapped a noose around his neck,
as if lynching him.
Many headlines that used the word possible, though,
included quotation marks because they were directly quoting police,
who said they were investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.
Still, reporters often use possible to describe acts of crime
even when not quoting police,
such as when reporting in early January 2019
that a woman in a vegetative state gave birth at an Arizona healthcare facility near the end of December 2018.
Many outlets reported the woman was a victim of a “possible sexual assault.”
Libel is to blame
The main reason that journalists use language like possible
is to avoid being sued for libel.
Libel is “defamation by written or printed words or photos.”
(Slander is the spoken equivalent.)
Writing that someone committed a crime,
for instance, when they didn’t, is bad
because such false statements can damage a person’s reputation
—and even their livelihood.
Libel is something journalists must always be cautious to avoid.
When journalists are reporting on a crime,
they often are stating what has appeared inan official report
or has been told to them by police.
Unless a person has been formally convicted of a crime,
a journalist cannot take an accusation and state it as undisputed fact.
As First Amendment scholar David L. Hudson Jr.
wrote for the Freedom Forum Institute in 2002,
“individuals possess a right not to be subjected
to falsehoods that impugn theircharacter.”
Nevertheless, there are many who feel thatjournalists’ use of language
like possible is too timid or passive,
that is, it’s not actively or aggressively calling out wrongdoing.
This complaint is especially directed incidents
of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexual violence.
In the case of the victim who gave birth while in a vegetative state,
the woman was physically incapable of consenting to sexual contact.
How else could she have given birth, then, if someone didn’t rape her?
To say she was “possibly raped” or “possibly sexually assaulted”
seems to cast doubt on what the victim experienced rather than signaling,
as is usually intended, that many details of the casewere still unknown.
Similarly, some outlets wrote that
Smollet was a victim of a “racially charged” attack
rather than saying it was outright racist.
For many, this language came across as unwillingness to call out racist violence.
How do we stop downplaying racism, violence, and hatred?
Journalists may use terms like racially charged and alt-right
because they fear that calling someone racist
could constitute libel, which is itself a crime.
But, the AP itself has taken the position
that terms like alt-right should not be used in reporting
because “it is meant as a euphemism to disguise racist aims.”
The AP Stylebook instructs:
…when writing on extreme groups, be precise and provide evidence
to support the characterization.
Report their actions, associations, history and positions
to reveal their actual beliefs and philosophy, as well as how others see them.
And so, while journalists need to rely on wordslike possible in crime reporting
so they don’t publish false or unestablished information,
it is critically important in today’s culture,
amid the threat of misinformation and growing respect for marginalized identities,
to assess when our language qualifiesinformation
—and when it diminishes a victim’s credibility or the severity of a crime.
We should correct and clarify that language when necessary.
Having an objective and impartial media is indispensable,
but it should never come at the expense of
recognizing racism and other forms of violence and hatred.
Not for what they possibly are, but what they really are.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Choose the Right Synonym for possible
POSSIBLE, PRACTICABLE, FEASIBLE
mean capable of being realized.
POSSIBLE implies that a thing may certainly exist or occur given the proper conditions. a possible route up the west face of the mountain
PRACTICABLE implies that something may be effected by available means or under current conditions. a solution that is not practicable in the time available
FEASIBLE applies to what is likely to work or be useful in attaining the end desired. commercially feasible for mass production
Choose the Right Synonym for possible
mean capable of becoming true or of actually happening.
POSSIBLE is used when something may happen or exist under the proper conditions. It is possible that you may get rich.
LIKELY is used when chances are good that something will actually happen but there is no proof it will. It is likely that the storm will cause damage.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Synonyms: possible, workable, practicable, feasible, viable
These adjectives mean capable of occurring orbeing done.
Possible indicates that something mayhappen, exist, be true, or be realizable:
"I made out a list of questions and possible answers" (Mary Roberts Rinehart).
Workable is used of something that can be put into effective operation:
If the scheme is workable, how will you implement it?
Something that is practicable is capable of being effected, done, or put into practice:
"As soon as it was practicable, he would wind up his business" (George Eliot).
Feasible refers to what can be accomplished, brought about, or carried out:
Making cars by hand is possible but not economically feasible.
Viable implies having the capacity forcontinuing effectiveness or success:
"How viable are the ancient legends as vehicles for modern literary themes?" (Richard Kain).
Collins English Dictionary
Usage:
Although it is very common to talk about
something being very possible or more possible,
these uses are generally thought to be incorrect,
since possible describes an absolute state,
and therefore, something can only be possible or not possible:
it is very likely (not very possible) that he will resign;
it has now become easier (not more possible) to obtain an entry visa
Collins COBUILD English Usage
Possible – possibly
1. 'possible'
Possible is an adjective. If something is possible, it can be done or achieved.
It is possible for us to measure the amount of rain.
Some improvement may be possible.
Possible is often used in expressions
such as as soon as possible and as much as possible.
If you do something as soon as possible, you do it as soon as you can.
I like to know as much as possible about my patients.
He sat as far away from me as possible.
Be Careful!
Don't say 'as soon as possibly'.
You also use possible to say that something may be true or correct.
It is possible that he made a mistake.
That's one possible answer.
2. 'possibly'
Possibly is an adverb.
You use possibly to show that you are not sure about something.
Television is possibly to blame for this.
She is always cheerful, which is possibly why people like her.
You also use possibly
when you are asking someone to do something in a very polite way.
For example, you say 'Could you possibly carry this for me?'
Could you possibly meet me there tomorrow at ten?
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary
Latin possibilis that may be done =poss(e) to be able (see posse) + -ibilis -ible]
syn:
possible, feasible, practicable
refer to that which may come about or take place without prevention by serious obstacles.
That which is possible is naturally able or likely to happen, other circumstances being equal:
He offered a possible compromise.
feasible refers to the ease with which something can be done
and implies a high degree of desirability for doing it:
Which plan is the most feasible?
practicable applies to that which can be done with
the means at hand and with conditions as they are:
We ascended the slope as far as was practicable.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary
probe, prove, probable - Latin probare, "approve, prove, test,"
is the source of English probe and prove.
From that came Latin probabilis, "provable,"
which became English probable.
