potential

[ puh-ten-shuhl ]

See synonyms for potential on Thesaurus.com

adjective

possible, as opposed to actual: the potential uses of nuclear energy.
capable of being or becoming: a potential danger to safety.

Grammar. expressing possibility: the potential subjunctive in Latin; the potential use of can in I can go.
Archaic. potent¹.

noun

possibility; potentiality: an investment that has little growth potential.
a latent excellence or ability that may or may not be developed.

Grammar.
- a potential aspect, mood, construction, case, etc.
- a form in the potential.
Electricity. electric potential (def. 1).
Mathematics, Physics. a type of function from which the intensity of a field may be derived, usually by differentiation.
someone or something that is considered a worthwhile possibility: The list of job applications has been narrowed to half a dozen potentials.

Origin of potential

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English potencial (from Old French ), from Late Latin potentiālis. See potency, -al¹

synonym study For potential

2. See latent.

Other words for potential

5	capacity, potency

See synonyms for potential on Thesaurus.com

Other words from potential

non·po·ten·tial, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use potential in a sentence

This does not mean I am blind to its revolutionary potentials, violent dimensions, or destructive forces.
Iran's Younger, Smarter Revolution | Hamid Dabashi | January 2, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
The potentials given for the gaseous elements represent the potentials of the gases under 760 mm.
The Elements of Qualitative Chemical Analysis, vol. 1, parts 1 and 2. | Julius Stieglitz
Such a flow of electricity will take place if by some means the ends of the conductor are maintained at different potentials.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia | Various
To use a homely simile—one might compare two human beings to two bodies charged with electricity of different potentials.
Married Love | Marie Carmichael Stopes
The potentials placed on the telephone line by the telegraph operations are equal and simultaneous.
Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2 | Kempster Miller

Let V1 and V2 be the potentials of the plates, and let a charge Q be given to one of them.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for potential

potential

/ (pəˈtɛnʃəl) /

adjective

- possible but not yet actual
- (prenominal) capable of being or becoming but not yet in existence; latent
grammar (of a verb or form of a verb) expressing possibility, as English may and might

an archaic word for potent 1

noun

latent but unrealized ability or capacity: Jones has great potential as a sales manager
grammar a potential verb or verb form

short for electric potential

Origin of potential

C14: from Old French potencial, from Late Latin potentiālis, from Latin potentia power

Derived forms of potential

potentially, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse