potentially

adverb

po·​ten·​tial·​ly pə-ˈten(t)-sh(ə-)lē How to pronounce potentially (audio)
Synonyms of potentiallynext
: in a potential or possible state or condition
used to describe the possible results or effects of something
a potentially dangerous situation [=a situation that has the potential to be or become dangerous]
a potentially useful feature
By creating a personal home page, anyone can publish material that potentially can be read by millions of people worldwide.Peter H. Lewis
The phenomenon seemed significant for both the science of immunology and, potentially, for medicine.Daniel J. Kevles
Potentially adding to the cost of the bail-out is the prevailing FDIC notion that some banks are simply too big to fail.L. J. Davis
The result, they say, is that children are less compelled to play outside, potentially stunting emotional and physical development and exacerbating a nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity.Sumathi Reddy

Examples of potentially in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Polling suggests that race could also advance to a June runoff, potentially keeping Georgia Republicans consumed by intraparty warfare for weeks longer. Nik Popli, Time, 18 May 2026 However, Asimov publishes a full bill of materials on its GitHub repository, allowing builders to source components independently and potentially reduce costs. Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 18 May 2026 These are not catastrophic failures, except for expired contracts that potentially can represent a business risk. David Pennino, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 The trial that began on April 27 in Oakland shed light on the bitter falling-out between the two Silicon Valley titans and on the origins of OpenAI, now a company valued at $852 billion and on track to potentially pull off one of the largest initial public offerings in history. Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for potentially

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of potentially was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Potentially.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potentially. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

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