potential

American  

[puh-ten-shuhl] / pəˈtɛn ʃəl /

adjective

1. possible, as opposed to actual.

   the potential uses of nuclear energy.

2. capable of being or becoming.

   a potential danger to safety.

3. Grammar. expressing possibility.

   the potential subjunctive in Latin; the potential use of can in I can go.

4. Archaic. potent.

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noun

• potentials
  plural

1. possibility; potentiality.

   an investment that has little growth potential.

   Synonyms:

   potency, capacity

2. a latent excellence or ability that may or may not be developed.

3. Grammar.

   1. a potential aspect, mood, construction, case, etc.

   2. a form in the potential.

4. Electricity. electric potential.

5. Mathematics, Physics. a type of function from which the intensity of a field may be derived, usually by differentiation.

6. someone or something that is considered a worthwhile possibility.

   The list of job applications has been narrowed to half a dozen potentials.

potential British  

/ pəˈtɛnʃəl /

adjective

1. 1. possible but not yet actual

   2. (prenominal) capable of being or becoming but not yet in existence; latent

2. grammar (of a verb or form of a verb) expressing possibility, as English may and might

3. an archaic word for potent 1

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noun

1. latent but unrealized ability or capacity

   Jones has great potential as a sales manager

2. grammar a potential verb or verb form

3. short for electric potential

Synonym Usage

See latent.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpotential
  adjective
• potentially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• potentials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of potential

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English potencial (from Old French ), from Late Latin potentiālis. See potency, -al ¹

Explanation

If you can describe something as possible but not yet actual, choose the adjective potential. Companies try to reach potential customers through advertising. Potential, from the Latin potentia "power," sounds more complicated than it is. It describes something or someone that has the power to become something. A potential success is not yet a success but could be if circumstances are right. When a situation has the potential for disaster, it could turn bad easily. You have potential if you have a natural but undeveloped ability to do something and a building with potential will be really nice once it's fixed up.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

potential potentials

Then McHugh says the plan became a potential hyperscale site covering more than 2,000 acres—bigger than two Central Parks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Research involving older and inexpensive medications can be difficult to fund, even when those drugs have the potential to improve patient care while lowering costs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Related parties have business or personal ties and transactions between them can have legitimate reasons, but they also pose potential conflicts of interest and require disclosure and typically extra regulatory scrutiny.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Ukrainians consult them to track potential Russian attacks, like people check weather applications for storms but with less certainty, shorter warning, and deadly stakes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

When the potential energy in the fault becomes greater than the force, called friction, that holds the plates together, the top plate breaks free and springs upward.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

The team also used pattern visual evoked potentials – a painless test that measured how well signals travelled from the retina to the visual cortex.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

Other analysts are also optimistic about the company’s growth potentials.

From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025

A couple of potentials he liked — Blood Reign and King’s Rain — linking the new band to Slayer’s best-known album, 1986’s “Reign in Blood,” were already in circulation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024

Without action potentials, a neuron's communication with other cells is greatly suppressed or even silenced.

From Science Daily ● May 24, 2024

As with other human learning potentials, there is a wide range of music aptitude levels distributed among the human population.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• ability
• capability
• capacity
• potentiality
• power