potentiality.

A latent capacity or possibility of development into an actual state or outcome.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• human potentiality
• unrealized potentiality

On the page

The argument treated human potentiality as something supported or constrained by conditions.

Unrealized potentiality did not establish that one particular outcome was inevitable.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Singular potentiality; plural potentialities. Also uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: criterion analysis, relative importance, potential and actual distinction, evidence interpretation. Disciplines: academic writing, institutional analysis, research and conceptual explanation. Commonness: uncommon.