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.
The answer, the author wrote, depended on whether “every boom carries with it the potentiality of a serious relapse.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Today’s teens face a yawning chasm of potentiality.
From Slate • Aug. 3, 2024
The participants were surveyed between workshops and asked to rank indicators related to the future potentiality of the technology.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2024
But, he added, “we know that the potentiality is there.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2023
Since one cannot bespeak until one has been bespoken, until the telepathic potentiality has been sensitized by one clear reception, I had to get through to him first.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
