potential

po·ten·tial

Use potential in a sentence

The slingshot is an example of potential energy.

adjective

The definition of potential is having the power or being capable of happening.
An example of potential is dinner plans that are not yet definite.

noun

Potential is defined as the possibility of becoming something.
An example of potential is the highest grades of which a particular student is capable.

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potential

that has power; potent
that can, but has not yet, come into being; possible; latent; unrealized; undeveloped
Gram. expressing possibility, capability, power, etc.: the potential mood

Origin of potential

Middle English potenciall from Medieval Latin potentialis from Classical Latin potentia: see potent

1. something potential; a potentiality
2. capacity for future success; promise
Elec. the difference in voltage between two points in an electric circuit or field
Gram.
1. the potential mood or aspect
2. a construction or form in this mood or aspect
Physics a function whose mathematical derivative is a physical field, as a force or an electric or magnetic field

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"Potential." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Potential.

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Potential. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Potential

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potential

adjective

Capable of being but not yet in existence; latent or undeveloped: a potential problem; a substance with many potential uses.
Grammar Of, relating to, or being a verbal construction with auxiliaries such as may or can; for example, it may snow.

noun

The inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or future success: an investment with a lot of potential; a singer who has the potential to become a major star.
The possibility that something might happen or result from given conditions: a tense situation with the potential to turn into a riot; farming practices that increase the potential for the erosion of topsoil.
Physics
a. See electric potential.
b. See gravitational potential.
c. See magnetic potential.
Grammar A potential verb form.

Origin of potential

Middle English potencial from Old French potenciel from Late Latin potentiālis powerful from Latin potentia power from potēns potent- present participle of posse to be able ; see potent .

Related Forms:

po·ten′tial·ly
adverb

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"Potential." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Potential.

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Potential. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Potential

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Noun

(plural potentials)

Currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to)
Even from a young age it was clear that she had the potential to become a great musician.
(physics) The gravitational potential is the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
(physics) The work (energy) required to move a reference particle from a reference location to a specified location in the presence of a force field, for example to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.
(grammar) A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.

Related terms

Adjective

(not comparable)

Existing in possibility, not in actuality.
The heroic man,—and is not every man, God be thanked, a potential hero?—has to do so, in all times and circumstances.
(archaic) Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential.
And hath, in his effect, a voice potential
(physics) A potential field is an irrotational (static) field.
From Maxwell equations (6.20) it follows that the electric field is potential: E(r) = −gradφ(r).
(physics) A potential flow is an irrotational flow.
The non-viscous flow of the vacuum should be potential (irrotational).
(grammar) Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.

Origin

From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”); synchronically analyzable as potent +‎ -ial.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"Potential." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Potential.

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Potential. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Potential

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potential - Computer Definition

The work required to bring a unit of positive electric charge from a reference point (as at infinity) to a specified point in an electric field.
Something that could happen but has not happened yet. Someone who could do something but has yet to do it, as in "He has a lot of potential." Some people never advance beyond the potential.
Maybe. See also negative, null, and positive.