potentiality

noun

po·​ten·​ti·​al·​i·​ty pə-ˌten(t)-shē-ˈa-lə-tē 

plural potentialities

1

: the ability to develop or come into existence

2

: potential sense 1

Synonyms

• capability
• eventuality
• possibility
• potential
• prospect

Examples of potentiality in a Sentence

would like to see a colony on the moon as an actuality and not merely a potentiality

Recent Examples on the Web

The goal, in the end, is to expand and enlarge our sense of self and the potentialities within our craft through careful reading, compositional imitation, and rigorous discussion. —Ocean Vuong september 6, Literary Hub, 6 Sep. 2022

The time lapses don’t connect these scenes narratively so much as suggest the potentialities of a constantly warping persona. —Armond White, National Review, 14 May 2025

In a striking parallel to the 1990s, epochal thinking about the potentialities of a high technology society has once again upended politics. —Jacob Bruggeman & Casey Eilbert / Made By History, TIME, 3 Mar. 2025

Practically, then, the translator reads with an eye to understanding the affordances offered by a text—to re-creating its potentialities, rather than merely offering a lexical equivalent. —Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for potentiality

• bisexuality
• collegiality
• conditionality
• congeniality
• conventionality
• conviviality
• dimensionality
• directionality
• emotionality
• essentiality
• eventuality
• grammaticality

Kids Definition

potentiality

noun

po·​ten·​ti·​al·​i·​ty pə-ˌten-chē-ˈal-ət-ē 

plural potentialities

1

: the ability to develop or to come into existence

2

: potential entry 2 sense 1a