potentially
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of potentially
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; potential + -ly
Explanation
Use the adverb potentially to describe something that could happen or might be true. Your backyard leaf burning project, for example, is potentially dangerous. When there's a possibility of something occurring or becoming reality, use the word potentially. All babies are potentially geniuses, and you might optimistically watch new TV comedies every fall in the belief that they're potentially funny. In other words, babies might turn out to be brilliant, and TV shows have the possibility of making you laugh out loud. The root word here is potential, from the Latin potentia, "power, might or force."
Vocabulary lists containing potentially
Bob
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The Man Who to the Far Side of the Moon and "Mayday on Moon of Jupiter"
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Storm Runners
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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.
On the other hand, he and his camp thought he would attract the interest of major European clubs this summer, especially with him potentially signing on a free transfer.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
This offers a potentially supportive backdrop for natural resources stocks, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Wednesday night, after a vegetarian quesadilla dinner, she said the city should provide pathways for food stands that make fresh food to get permits and grow their businesses, including potentially working toward a brick-and-mortar location.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
A quick look at the numbers shows how interest payments are set to snowball, potentially creating all sorts of other problems down the line.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
But after that day the weather, and the way people remembered it, became something more; something potentially more deceptive, and yet something much more meaningful, more fragile and rare, and even more beautiful.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
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.
