noun
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latent or inherent capacity or ability for growth, fulfilment, etc
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a person or thing that possesses such a capacity
Etymology
Origin of potentiality
From the Medieval Latin word potentiālitās, dating back to 1615–25. See potential, -ity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Recall that the internet had supposedly rewritten the book on investment value and human potentiality.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
Today’s teens face a yawning chasm of potentiality.
From Slate • Aug. 3, 2024
During the workshops, the participants were asked to think about this technology from the perspective of IFGs, to imagine how this technology might be adopted in the future and to assess its future potentiality.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2024
Classic Hollywood directors like David Lean and Douglas Sirk knew the amorous potentiality contained in the human face, harnessing its elastic electricity to illuminate soaring embraces and aching breakups.
From New York Times • Feb. 9, 2024
A tadpole is potentially a frog, and as it grows it develops from potentiality to actuality.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
