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
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Recent Examples of potentiality
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
If Vietnam damaged the credibility of experts, experts were no more inclined to value the democratic potentialities of the public.
—Daniel Bessner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2017
See All Example Sentences for potentiality
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
If Vietnam damaged the credibility of experts, experts were no more inclined to value the democratic potentialities of the public.
—Daniel Bessner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2017
See All Example Sentences for potentiality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potentiality
Noun
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Since September 2024, a new federal law requires mammogram reports to state whether breast tissue is dense, and to mention the possibility of additional imaging.—
Dr. Megha Gupta,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
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This decrease in firepower, though, does open the possibility for some historically significant winners.—
Alan Light,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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These crumbs of what seems like kindness can keep people hooked on the hope that the narcissist has the potential to change, which experts is highly unlikely.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
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An overstuffed tracklist and slightly sloppy sequencing prevent the record from fully realizing its potential, but over the course of an hour-plus, Cardi sufficiently reminds us why the crown was hers to return for in the first place.—
Kyle Denis,
Billboard,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Potentiality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potentiality. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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