English Explanatory Dictionary

potential

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to).
  2. The gravitational potential: the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
  3. The work (energy) required to move a reference particle from a reference location to a specified location in the presence of a force field, for example to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.
  4. A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.
adj
  1. Existing in possibility, not in actuality.
  2. Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result
  3. irrotational
  4. irrotational (see potential flow on Wikipedia)
  5. Referring to a verbal construction of form stating something is possible or probable.

Pronunciation

/pəˈtɛnʃəl/ en-us-potential.ogg /po(ʊ)ˈtɛnʃəl/

Word forms

potential potentials

Etymology

From Late Latin potentialis, from Latin potentia (“power”), from potens (“powerful”). By surface analysis, potent + -ial.

Synonyms

noumenon spirit noumenal spiritual virtual efficacious influential

Antonyms

matter phenomenon actual phenomenal real

Related words

potence potency potent potentate potentiality

Derived words

after-potential afterpotential biopotential eigenpotential electropotential geopotential hydropotential multipotential myopotential overpotential postpotential prepotential pseudopotential quasipotential subpotential superpotential tripotential underpotential vectorpotential zetapotential action potential Cornell potential Coulomb potential decomposition potential demarcation potential electric potential electrode potential event-related potential evoked potential human potential movement injury potential Lennard-Jones potential membrane potential MLR potential Morse potential normal potential potench potential theory potential vorticity redox potential resting potential standard electrode potential threshold potential velocity potential water potential Yukawa potential zeta potential bipotential electrochemical potential equipotential immunopotential interpotential isopotential nonpotential oligopotential omnipotential potential difference potential energy potentialism potentialist
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on P Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary