potential
[UK]/pəʊ'ten.tʃəl/ [US]/poʊ-/
adjective [before noun]
I
* possible when the necessary conditions exist
潜在的，可能的

1. A number of potential buyers have expressed interest in the company.
一些潜在的买主表达了对该公司的兴趣。

2. Many potential customers are waiting for a fall in prices before buying.
很多潜在的顾客都在等着降价再购买。

3. The accident is a grim reminder of the potential dangers involved in North Sea oil production.
该意外残酷地提醒人们生产北海石油可能会出现的危险。

[UK]/pəʊ'ten.tʃəl/ [US]/poʊ-/
noun [U]
I
* someone's or something's ability to develop, achieve or succeed
潜力，潜能

1. The region has enormous potential for economic development.
该地区经济发展潜力无穷。

2. I don't feel I'm achieving my full potential in my present job.
我觉得目前的工作没有完全发挥我的潜力。

3. [+ to infinitive] You have the potential to reach the top of your profession.
你有潜力达到事业的顶峰。

4. I think this room has got a lot of potential (= could be very good if some changes were made to it).
我觉得这个房间有很多改善空间。

---

potential ★★★★☆

---

☞ potential
po·ten·tial / pE5tenFl / adjective [only before noun]
   that can develop into sth or be developed in the future
   潜在的；可能的
   SYN  possible :
   potential customers
   潜在的客户
   a potential source of conflict
   潜在的冲突根源
   a potential prime minister
   未来的首相
   First we need to identify actual and potential problems.
   首先,我们需要弄清实际的问题和潜在的问题。
• po·ten·tial·ly / -FEli / adv.:
   a potentially dangerous situation
   有潜在危险的局势 noun1. [U] ~ (for / for doing sth) the possibility of sth happening or being developed or used
   可能性；潜在性:
   the potential for change
   变革的可能性
   The European marketplace offers excellent potential for increasing sales.
   欧洲市场带来了扩销的大好机遇。
2. [U] qualities that exist and can be developed
   潜力；潜质
   SYN  promise :
   All children should be encouraged to realize their full potential.
   应当鼓励所有的儿童充分发挥他们的潜能。
   She has great potential as an artist.
   她很有潜质,是一位可造就的艺术家。
   He has the potential to become a world-class musician.
   他有潜力成为世界级的音乐家。
   The house has a lot of potential.
   这所房子颇具潜力。
3. [U, C] (physics 物) the difference in voltage between ten points in an electric field or circuit
   电位；电势；电压

---

potential

I. noun

• ADJECTIVE considerable, enormous, great, high, huge, limitless, tremendous, vast | full, maximum You aren't using your computer to its full ~. | real, true | unfulfilled, untapped | future, long-term | commercial, economic | growth | creative | human He believes that religion allows us to develop our human ~.

• VERB + POTENTIAL demonstrate, have, show This young man has enormous ~. | hold, offer The new business offers great ~ for growth. | be aware of, recognize, see John Cadbury could see the ~ for his product. | develop, exploit, explore, unlock They were among the first companies to exploit the ~ of the Internet. | achieve, fulfil/fulfill, maximize, reach, realize his dream of fulfilling his true ~ | increase, reduce

• PREPOSITION with ~ We're looking for a trainee with ~. | ~ as She showed great ~ as an actor. | ~ for an industry that has the ~ for growth

II. adj.
Potential is used with these nouns: advantage, ally, ambiguity, applicant, application, audience, avenue, benefit, bias, buyer, candidate, capability, catastrophe, client, competitor, complication, conflict, consequence, consumer, contamination, cost, criminal, crisis, cure, customer, damage, danger, demand, difference, difficulty, disadvantage, disaster, donor, drawback, effect, effectiveness, embarrassment, employee, employer, enemy, entrepreneur, gain, greatness, hazard, hire, impact, implication, importance, improvement, influence, investor, killer, limitation, link, litigation, lover, mate, member, merger, murderer, participant, peril, pitfall, problem, profit, profitability, rapist, recruit, relevance, repercussion, replacement, return, revenue, reward, risk, rival, roadblock, role, saving, saviour, shortcoming, side effect, significance, site, snag, source, sponsor, stumbling block, successor, suspect, target, tenant, terrorist, threat, trap, trouble, turning point, use, usefulness, user, utility, victim, visitor, volunteer, voter, vulnerability, weakness, windfall, winner, witness

---

potential adj.
⇨ likely potential

noun

potential ♦︎ prospects ♦︎ promise ♦︎ possibilitiesThese are all words for the possibility of sth happening or being developed or used successfully. 这些词均表示可能性、潜在性。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆potential / prospects / possibilities for sth◆sb / sth with potential / prospects / promise / possibilities◆real / great potential / prospects / promise / possibilities◆exciting / future potential / prospects / possibilities◆commercial / development / economic potential / prospects / possibilities◆to have potential / prospects / promise / possibilities◆to offer potential / prospects / possibilities◆to show potential / promise◆to fulfil sb / sth's potential / promise◆to assess / examine / consider / discuss / explore sb / sth's potential / prospects / possibilities■ potential pəˈtenʃl [uncountable] the possibility of sth happening or being developed or used; qualities that exist in sb/sth and can be developed 可能性；潜在性；潜力◆It is clear that the potential for change is there.很明显存在发生变革的可能性。◆She has great potential as an artist.她极具艺术家的潜质。◆All children should be encouraged to realize their full potential.应当鼓励每一个孩子充分发挥自己的潜能。ⓘ People and things generally have/show potential when they have qualities that can be developed. When they use these qualities successfully, they fulfil, reach or realize their potential. * have/show potential一般指人或事物有进一步发展的潜力，fulfil、reach或realize与potential搭配表示发挥这些潜能。   see also potential ⇨ likely adj. ■ prospects [plural] the chances of being successful, especially in your career （尤指事业）成功的机会，前景，前途◆They want a reasonable salary and good career prospects.他们既希望得到合理的报酬，又希望在事业上有发展。◆At 25 he was an unemployed musician with no prospects.25岁的他是个没有工作、前途渺茫的乐师。◆What are the prospects of promotion in this job?做这份工作有多少晋升的机会？   see also prospective ⇨ likely adj. ■ promise [uncountable] a sign that sb/sth will be successful 将获成功的迹象◆Her work shows great promise.她的作品显示她大有前途。◆Their future was full of promise.他们前途无量。  see also promising ⇨ promising ■ possibilities [plural] qualities that exist in sth and can be developed 潜力◆The house is in a bad state of repair but it has possibilities.这所房子虽年久失修，但仍有价值。  see also possible ⇨ possible 1 NOTE 辨析 Potential or possibilities?People or things can have potential, but especially people; things, but not usually people, can have possibilities. * potential用于人或事物，尤其指人的潜力。possibility用于事物，通常不用于人。

---

potential

adjective
vocal talent is only part of the requirement for a potential star | a potential source of conflict
POSSIBLE , likely, prospective, future, probable, budding, promising, in the making, up-and-coming, aspiring, would-be; latent, embryonic, developing, dormant, inherent, unrealized, undeveloped.

noun
the economic potential of the area | he obviously has great potential
POSSIBILITIES , potentiality, prospects; promise, capability, capacity, ability, power; aptitude, talent, flair, the makings; informal what it takes.

---

potential 潜力，潜在的，可能的
来自potent, 强大的，有力的；-al, 形容词后缀。引申词义潜力，潜在的，可能的。

---