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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But others suggested that with Kirk’s death, any possibility of peacefully bridging the divide between the right and left was now off the table.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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Collins, Appropriations Committee chairwoman, is tasked with crafting funding measures and is locked in a battleground reelection fight, potentially strengthening the possibility of an extension.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The paper also highlights the potential of digital twins — virtual patient replicas that allow doctors to simulate treatments before applying them in real life.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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This creates the potential for payload delivery and even medical evacuation from orbit to any major metropolitan area.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Potentiality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potentiality. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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