Definitions for POTENTIAL
pəˈtɛn ʃəlpo·ten·tial

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.4 / 11 votes

1. potential, potentiality, potencynoun

   the inherent capacity for coming into being

2. electric potential, potential, potential difference, potential drop, voltageadjective

   the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts

3. potential, possibleadjective

   existing in possibility

   "a potential problem"; "possible uses of nuclear power"

4. likely, potentialadjective

   expected to become or be; in prospect

   "potential clients"

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.3 / 6 votes

1. potentialnoun

   Currently unrealized ability.

   Even from a young age it was clear that she had great musical potential.

2. potentialnoun

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

3. potentialnoun

   The work (energy) required to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.

4. potentialnoun

   A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.

5. potentialadjective

   Existing in possibility, not in actuality.

6. potentialadjective

   Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential.

7. potentialadjective

   A potential field is an irrotational (static) field.

   From Maxwell equations (6.20) it follows that the electric field is potential: E(r)uE000128544uE001=uE000128545uEgradu03C6(r).uE000128546uE001

8. potentialadjective

   A potential flow is an irrotational flow.

   The non-viscous flow of the vacuum should be potential (irrotational).uE000128547uE001

9. potentialadjective

   Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.

10. Etymology: From potentialis, from potentia, from potens; see potent.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Potentialadjective

   Etymology: potenciel, Fr. potentialis, Latin.

   1. Existing in possibility, not in act.

   This potential and imaginary materia prima cannot exist without form. Walter Raleigh, Hist. of the World.

   2. Having the effect without the external actual property.

   The magnifico is much belov’d,
   And hath in his effect a voice potential,
   As double as the duke’s. William Shakespeare, Othello.

   Ice doth not only submit unto actual heat, but indureth not the potential calidity of many waters. Brown.

   3. Efficacious; powerful.

   Thou must make a dullard of the world,
   If they not thought the profits of my death
   Were very pregnant and potential spurs
   To make thee seek it. William Shakespeare.

   4. In grammar, potential is a mood denoting the possibility of doing any action.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. potential

   Potential generally refers to the inherent capacity or ability something possesses that could be developed or lead to future success or usefulness. It can also refer to the possibility or likelihood of an event occurring. It is often used in various fields such as physics, where it could mean the amount of electric or gravitational potential energy per unit at a specific location, or in psychology, where it could refer to a person's ability to acquire new skills or knowledge. Hence, its specific definition may vary based on context.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. Potentialadjective

   being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential

2. Potentialadjective

   existing in possibility, not in actuality

3. Potentialnoun

   anything that may be possible; a possibility; potentially

4. Potentialnoun

   in the theory of gravitation, or of other forces acting in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with respect to the coordinates are equal to the components of the force at the point considered; -- also called potential function, or force function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the distance from the center

5. Potentialnoun

   the energy of an electrical charge measured by its power to do work; hence, the degree of electrification as referred to some standard, as that of the earth; electro-motive force

6. Etymology: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

WikidataRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Potential

   Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple release of energy by objects to the realization of abilities in people. Examples include: In linguistics, the potential mood The mathematical study of potentials is known as potential theory; it is the study of harmonic functions on manifolds. This mathematical formulation arises from the fact that, in physics, the scalar potential is irrotational, and thus has a vanishing Laplacian — the very definition of a harmonic function. In physics, a potential may refer to the scalar potential or to the vector potential. In either case, it is a field defined in space, from which many important physical properties may be derived. Leading examples are the gravitational potential and the electric potential, from which the motion of gravitating or electrically charged bodies may be obtained. Specific forces have associated potentials, including the Coulomb potential, the van der Waals potential, the Lennard-Jones potential and the Yukawa potential. In electrochemistry there are Galvani potential, Volta potential, electrode potential, standard electrode potential.In Thermodynamics potential refers to thermodynamic potential.

The Standard Electrical DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Potential

   Potential in general may be treated as an attribute of a point in space, and may express the potential energy which a unit mass would have if placed at that point. This conception of potential is that of a property attributable to a point in space, such that if a unit mass were placed there the forces acting upon it would supply the force factor of energy, while the body would supply the mass factor. This property is expressible in units, which produce, if the supposed mass is a unit mass, units of work or energy, but potential itself is neither. Thus taking gravitation, a pound mass on the surface of the earth (assuming it to be a sphere of 4,000 miles radius) would require the expenditure of 21,120,000 foot pounds to remove it to an infinite distance against gravity. The potential of a point in space upon the surface of the earth is therefore negative and is represented by -21,120,000*32.2 foot poundals (32.2 = acceleration of gravity). (See Poundal.) In practice and conventionally all points on the earth's surface are taken as of zero potential. [Transcriber's note; 21,120,000 foot pounds is about 8 KWh.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. potentialnoun

   Positive order used to represent dialectal speech supported by one or more primordial poles. 0.) Having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future. 1.) Latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness. 2.) The quantity determining the energy of mass in gravitational field or of charge in an electric field.

   I based my potential on my energy of being whom I am.

   Etymology: Gifted

   
   

   Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on March 12, 2024  

2. ---

   potential

   The ability or capacity to create.

   The potential for the future use of the software was so clear, we were delighted.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 19, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Possibility

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'POTENTIAL' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1558

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'POTENTIAL' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2792

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'POTENTIAL' in Nouns Frequency: #965

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'POTENTIAL' in Adjectives Frequency: #189

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for POTENTIAL »

1. peltation

How to pronounce POTENTIAL?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say POTENTIAL in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of POTENTIAL in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of POTENTIAL in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of POTENTIAL in a Sentence

1. Chuck Lovell:

   As police officers, we know that the vast majority of community members who approach and contact us do so with no intention to do us harm, however, attacks like this one remind us all that there is the potential for people to try to take direct violent action against police officers.

2. Jeff Snyder:

   By reducing to lower risk, you protect the portfolio from downside but you're also going to prevent upside potential.

3. Harold Medina:

   Fortunately, nobody has been injured by these shootings, but every time someone fires a gun into a home or business, there is a potential for tragedy. Our detectives are working overtime to track down the offender or offenders and hold them responsible.

4. Ian Gunner:

   There's still massive uncertainty about what's going to happen, there are so many potential things on the table, like: does parliament vote on it? Do we have another referendum? I think those things become a little more plausible with May as prime minister than they would have been under a Brexiteer.

5. Gabriel Collins:

   This is a central preset to Chinese strategy. When Lina Benabdallah look through history Lina Benabdallah preemptively shape the environment, shape the potential battlefield, so that Lina Benabdallah adversaries decide to not even come out on to the field to begin with. There's real potential for the debt to do that.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=POTENTIAL
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Potential
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=POTENTIAL
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/POTENTIAL
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=POTENTIAL
7. ^ The Standard Electrical Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26535/pg26535-images.html#:~:text=POTENTIAL
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=POTENTIAL