Potential can be either good or bad. Studying hard increases the potential for success, but wet roads increase the potential for accidents. But when a person or thing "has potential", we always expect something good from it in the future.

Understanding the Context

POTENTIAL definition: 1. possible when the necessary conditions exist: 2. someone's or something's ability to develop…. Learn more.

Key Insights

POTENTIAL definition: possible, as opposed to actual. See examples of potential used in a sentence. 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. Watch video clips and the latest episodes of ABC's High Potential free online.

Final Thoughts

Catch behind the scenes moments, full episodes and more. potential (countable and uncountable, plural potentials) Even from a young age it was clear that she had the potential to become a great musician. Comrades, our own fleet doesn't know our full potential. They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment. The possibility that something might happen or result from given conditions: a tense situation with the potential to turn into a riot; farming practices that increase the potential for the erosion of topsoil. Potential energy, stored energy that depends upon the relative position of various parts of a system.

For example, a steel ball has more potential energy raised above the ground than it has after falling to Earth. Learn more about potential energy in this article. Learn what potential means with clear definitions, pronunciation, synonyms, and real-world examples. Simple explanations to help you use potential correctly.