as in possibility
something that can develop or become actual
would like to see a colony on the moon as an actuality and not merely a potentiality
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of potentiality
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
Meanwhile, parsing-of-totality depends on advancing sensing techniques to harness atoms’ deeper patterns and potentiality.
—Pravir Malik, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for potentiality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potentiality
Noun
-
As oblivion approached, with all its attendant possibilities of panic or bitterness, Bowie summoned the generosity to evoke the ordeal of one prematurely dying man while also thinking and creating at the no less vast scale of life itself.—
-
Thursday’s report is not the first time the possibility of Trump pardoning Combs has been publicly discussed.—
Noun
-
Some said their businesses aren’t relevant to the bubble concerns, while others expressed optimism about AI’s potential and said they are focused on building products that show it.—
-
If there is a potential for temperatures to fall into these thresholds, a freeze watch may be issued a few days ahead of time.—
Cite this Entry
“Potentiality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potentiality. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share