POTENTIAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does potential mean? 

• POTENTIAL (noun)
  The noun POTENTIAL has 2 senses:

1. the inherent capacity for coming into being

2. the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts

  Familiarity information: POTENTIAL used as a noun is rare.

• POTENTIAL (adjective)
  The adjective POTENTIAL has 2 senses:

1. existing in possibility

2. expected to become or be; in prospect

  Familiarity information: POTENTIAL used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POTENTIAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The inherent capacity for coming into being

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

potency; potential; potentiality

Hypernyms ("potential" is a kind of...):

possibility; possibleness (capability of existing or happening or being true)

Attribute:

possible; potential (existing in possibility)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "potential"):

latency (the state of being not yet evident or active)

chance; prospect (the possibility of future success)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

electric potential; potential; potential difference; potential drop; voltage

Hypernyms ("potential" is a kind of...):

electrical phenomenon (a physical phenomenon involving electricity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "potential"):

evoked potential (the electrical response of the central nervous system produced by an external stimulus)

resting potential (the potential difference between the two sides of the membrane of a nerve cell when the cell is not conducting an impulse)

• POTENTIAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Existing in possibility

Synonyms:

possible; potential

Context example:

possible uses of nuclear power

Similar:

latent (potentially existing but not presently evident or realized)

Attribute:

potency; potential; potentiality (the inherent capacity for coming into being)

Antonym:

actual (presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible)

Derivation:

potency (the inherent capacity for coming into being)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Expected to become or be; in prospect

Synonyms:

likely; potential

Context example:

potential clients

Similar:

prospective (of or concerned with or related to the future)

Derivation:

potency; potentiality (the inherent capacity for coming into being)

 Context examples 

An orally bioavailable, synthetic, highly selective adenosine A3 receptor (A3AR) agonist with potential antineoplastic activity.

(Adenosine A3 Receptor Agonist CF102, NCI Thesaurus)

This full moon will be in your house of truelove, so this period of the month holds much potential for happiness.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

A nonreplicating adenoviral vector (adenovector) encoding the melanoma differentiation-associated 7 gene (MDA7) with potential antineoplastic activity.

(Adenovector Encoding MDA7, NCI Thesaurus)

Potential therapeutic targets identified by the researchers are the enzymes that regulate the chemical modification of FUS and the molecular chaperones that facilitate FUS proteins to change its form.

(Mechanism behind neuron death in motor neurone disease and frontotemporal dementia discovered, University of Cambridge)

They say there are hundreds of thousands of pieces of debris circling the Earth that have the potential to damage or destroy satellites.

(Australia Developing Lasers to Track, Destroy Space Junk, VOA)

This is one of the reasons why proteins are such good indicators of our current and future health state and have the potential to improve clinical prediction across different and diverse diseases.

(Study highlights potential for ‘liquid health check’ to predict disease risk, University of Cambridge)

Maybe you’ve heard or read about its potential benefits.

(Can Chocolate Really Be Good for You?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The potential waiter waved him away, and turned, gravely, to me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

This agent, when administered in conjunction with a synthetic acyclic guanosine analogue, possesses potential antineoplastic activity.

(Ad-hCMV-TK, NCI Thesaurus)

An adenoviral vector engineered to express the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene, which, when administered in conjunction with a synthetic acyclic guanosine analogue, possesses potential antineoplastic activity.

(Adenoviral Vector Encoding HSV Thymidine Kinase, NCI Thesaurus)