Question

potential If the plan works we'll be millionaires, but the potential for disaster is high. pəˈtɛnʃəl

Accepted Answer

(1) The possibility that something will happen in the future. (2) A cause for hope. 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. As an adjective (as in “potential losses,” “potential benefits,” etc.), potential usually means simply “possible.” In science, however, the adjective has a special meaning: Potential energy is the kind of stored energy that a boulder sitting at the top of a cliff has (the opposite of kinetic energy, which is what it has as it rolls down that cliff).

word	potential
definition	(1) The possibility that something will happen in the future. (2) A cause for hope.
eg_sentence	If the plan works we'll be millionaires, but the potential for disaster is high.
explanation	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. As an adjective (as in “potential losses,” “potential benefits,” etc.), potential usually means simply “possible.” In science, however, the adjective has a special meaning: Potential energy is the kind of stored energy that a boulder sitting at the top of a cliff has (the opposite of kinetic energy, which is what it has as it rolls down that cliff).
IPA	pəˈtɛnʃəl

Potential Future Good Adjective Energy Possibility Happen Hope