potential
potential Lexical Profile
potential Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future; possible, as opposed to actual.
"The company is negotiating with several potential investors to fund the new research facility."
• noun
Latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness.
"Dedicated teachers help students recognize and achieve their full academic potential."
The quantity determining the energy of mass in a gravitational field or of charge in an electric field.
"The voltmeter measures the difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'potential' is used almost exclusively attributively before a noun (e.g., 'a potential buyer') rather than predicatively after a linking verb.
• Rhymes for potential
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French potentiel and Late Latin potentialis, derived from Latin potentia ('power, might'), from potens ('powerful, able').