futurity

noun

fu·​tu·​ri·​ty fyü-ˈtu̇r-ə-tē  -ˈtyu̇r- 

-ˈchu̇r-

plural futurities

1

: time to come : future

2

: the quality or state of being future

3

futurities plural : future events or prospects

4

a

: a horse race usually for two-year-olds in which the competitors are nominated at birth or before

b

: a race or competition for which entries are made well in advance of the event

Did you know?

For a forward-looking word, futurity has quite the literate past. Its first known use comes from Act III of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, when the downtrodden Cassio, mystified about why Othello has turned against him, beseeches Desdemona to tell him whether his “offense be of such mortal kind / That nor my service past, nor present sorrows, / Nor purpos’d merit in futurity / Can ransom me into his love again.” Centuries later the Scottish writer Walter Scott wrote of events still in “the womb of futurity,” employing a phrase also used by James Fenimore Cooper, among others. Though still in use and very much useful, futurity tends to lend one’s speech or writing a lofty tone, so if the situation calls for something more down-to-earth, you may want to go back to [the] future.

Synonyms

• by-and-by
• future
• hereafter
• offing
• tomorrow

Examples of futurity in a Sentence

In English we can express futurity with “will” and “shall.”

we can scarcely imagine what observers in some remote futurity will think of civilization as it existed at the dawn of the 21st century

Recent Examples on the Web

Centrally, by having a coltan miner as the protagonist, the film links futurity with materiality and labor. —Ruby Thélot, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024

Next October his first set of quarter horses are set to go into futurity, a competition which offers staggering prize money to winners. —Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 19 July 2024

My interest in fantasy and sci-fi and thinking about this kind of notion around futurity. —Essence, 19 Jan. 2024

Their practice addresses themes of belonging, futurity, myth and place by considering our relationship to inherited colonial structures and systems of belief/care. —Tony Roberts, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

futurity

noun

fu·​tu·​ri·​ty fyu̇-ˈt(y)u̇r-ət-ē  -ˈchu̇r- 

plural futurities

1

: future entry 2 sense 1a

2

: the quality or state of being future

3

plural : future events or possibilities