Potential

Word POTENTIAL
Character 9
Hyphenation po ten tial
Pronunciations /pəˈtɛnʃəl/

Definitions and meanings of "Potential"

What do we mean by potential?

Capable of being but not yet in existence; latent or undeveloped. adjective

Of, relating to, or being a verbal construction with auxiliaries such as may or can; for example, it may snow. adjective

The inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or future success. noun

The possibility that something might happen or result from given conditions. noun

A potential verb form. noun

In electricity, an incorrect abbreviation of potential difference, or electric pressure. noun

Potent; powerful; mighty.

Possible, as opposed to actual; capable of being or becoming; capable of coming into full being or manifestation.

In physics, existing in a positional form, not as motion: especially in the phrase potential energy.

In grammar, expressing power or possibility: as, the potential mode; potential forms.

See phrase under participle

Anything that may be possible; a possibility. noun

In dynamics: The sum of the products of all the pairs of masses of a system, each product divided by the distance between the pair. noun

More generally, the line-integral of the attractions of a conservative system from a fixed configuration to its actual configuration; the work that would be done by a system of attracting and repelling masses (obeying the law of energy) in moving from situations infinitely remote from one another (or from any other fixed situations) to their actual situation. noun

In electrostatics, at any point near or within an electrified body, the quantity of work necessary to bring a unit of positive electricity from an infinite distance to that point, the given distribution of electricity remaining unaltered. See equipotential. noun

A scalar quantity distributed through space in such a way that its slope represents a given vector quantity distributed through space. noun

Currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to)

The gravitational potential: the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.

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.

Synonyms and Antonyms for Potential

The word "potential" in example sentences

The first potential stage is known as the _hylic_ or _potential intellect_. ❋ Isaac Husik (1907)

"The club's got so much ­potential and needs to grow to become a ­company to match that potential," she emphasises, tapping into a trend that has increasingly come to dictate modern football. ❋ Unknown (2010)

It was guaranteed to be able to stop a diplodocus in full charge; the electric potential (_potential! ❋ Randall Garrett (1957)

Looks like rain potential is generally .5 "-.75" with some spots maybe topping 1 ", and perhaps others seeing less than .5". ❋ Ian Livingston (2010)

I need to underline the word potential—so far, these risks have been contained. ❋ Paul Hannon (2011)

Perhaps the only thing more tragic than the losses of these children and the diminishing of their potential is the fact that malnutrition is preventable. ❋ World Vision (2010)

I keep getting put in situations where the potential is there, high expectations and come up short. ' ❋ Michael Lee (2010)

But if Apple gets the remaining details right, the potential is all to the upside. ❋ Unknown (2010)

You'd be hard pressed to get 30% efficiency in an ICE, but the potential is there for 50% efficiency from a fuel cell. ❋ Unknown (2009)

"The word 'potential' implies there haven't been profound wines from this region to date," said Mr. Page, after I mentioned the word. ❋ Lettie Teague (2011)

The grounds weren't as manicured as we're used to here on Long Island, but again, the potential is there. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The admiral would not discuss what he called potential future operations, including whether these would involve targeting of Gadhafi command and control targets. ❋ Unknown (2011)

Is it how high Jindal and his potential is above Kilgore, even if he had won in 2005. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Higher potential is also more loss potential and in a retirement plan, the most aggressive is still very conservative by anyone's normal measures. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Strike that: a potential is a scalar field that is equal to the gradient of a vector field. ❋ Unknown (2009)

Cross Reference for Potential

What does potential mean?

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