What is the difference between probability and possibility

A possibility is something we use to describe an event that may or may not happen. And it might not be always possible to calculate how likely the event is to occur.

Possibility is the qualitative characteristic of an event's occurrence. For instance, I may find myself winning a lottery today is a possibility. The probability of an event is the likelihood or chance with which that event could occur or happen. Therefore, technically, the possibility of any event is always binary Yes or a no, 1 or 0. If an event is " possible" , how likely will its occurrence be, under a given situation is probability.

Imagine yourself to be playing a game of roll the dice, when your brother rolls a dice, the possibility of the dice showing up number 5 is 'Yes', the possibility of showing up number 10 is 'No'.

So, next time someone chips in the 'probable' word in his sentence, do ask him what he actually meant Probability and Possibility are two words between which certain differences can be identified. However, most people often tend to confuse these words due to the resemblance to their meanings. Strictly speaking they show some differences between them. First let us comprehend the meaning of each term. In mathematics, students learn to calculate the probability of something happening.

This is the main difference between probability and possibility. Through this article, attention will be paid to the differences that exist between the two words and also the article will provide an understanding of each word. This refers to the likelihood of something happening. In other words, it can be said that the probability indicates the extent to which an event is likely to occur.

It is usually measured by the ratio of the favorable cases to the whole number of cases that are possible. Hence, it can be said that the probability is a subset of possibility.

Which seems a paradox to me as the word is present on its own definition. From Cambridge Dictionary Probability: The level of possibility of something happening or being true. Possibility: A chance that something may happen or be true.

So my questions are, What they mean literally? When and where to use them or not? Improve this question. Community Bot 1. I think that Word Knock definition was a mistake, and that it has been corrected since you posted your question. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Sherlock Holmes said: "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?

Improve this answer. Pam Pam 7, 1 1 gold badge 10 10 silver badges 38 38 bronze badges. Wow, excellent analogy.