Actual vs. Potential
Actualadjective
relating to a person's acts or deeds; active, practical
Actualadjective
Existing in reality, not just potentially; really acted or acting; occurring in fact.
Actualadjective
in action at the time being; now existing; current
Actualadjective
Used as intensifier to emphasise a following noun; exact, very.
Actualnoun
an actual, real one; notably:
Actualnoun
(finance) something actually received; real receipts, as distinct from estimated ones.
Actualnoun
(military) a radio callsign modifier that specifies the commanding officer of the unit or asset denoted by the remainder of the callsign and not the officer's assistant or other designee.
Actualadjective
Involving or comprising action; active.
Actualadjective
Existing in act or reality; really acted or acting; in fact; real; - opposed to potential, possible, virtual, speculative, conceivable, theoretical, or nominal; as, the actual cost of goods; the actual case under discussion.
Actualadjective
In action at the time being; now exiting; present; as the actual situation of the country.
Actualnoun
Something actually received; real, as distinct from estimated, receipts.
Actualadjective
presently existing in fact and not merely potential or possible;
Actualadjective
taking place in reality; not pretended or imitated;
Actualadjective
being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something;
Actualadjective
of the nature of fact; having actual existence;
Actualadjective
existing in fact whether with lawful authority or not;
Actualadjective
being or existing at the present moment;
Actualadjective
existing in fact; real
Actualadjective
used to emphasize the important aspect of something
Actualadjective
existing now; current
Potentialnoun
Currently unrealized ability (with the most common adposition being to)
Potentialnoun
(physics) The gravitational potential: the radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
Potentialnoun
(physics) The work (energy) required to move a reference particle from a reference location to a specified location in the presence of a force field, for example to bring a unit positive electric charge from an infinite distance to a specified point against an electric field.
Potentialnoun
(grammar) A verbal construction or form stating something is possible or probable.
Potentialadjective
Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential.
Potentialadjective
Existing in possibility, not in actuality.
Potentialnoun
Anything that may be possible; a possibility; potentially.
Potentialnoun
In the theory of gravitation, or of other forces acting in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with respect to the coördinates are equal to the components of the force at the point considered; - also called potential function, or force function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the distance from the center.
Potentialnoun
The energy of an electrical charge measured by its power to do work; hence, the degree of electrification as referred to some standard, as that of the earth; electro-motive force.
Potentialnoun
the inherent capacity for coming into being
Potentialnoun
the difference in electrical charge between two points in a circuit expressed in volts
Potentialadjective
existing in possibility;
Potentialadjective
expected to become or be; in prospect;
Potential
Potential generally refers to a currently unrealized ability. The term is used in a wide variety of fields, from physics to the social sciences to indicate things that are in a state where they are able to change in ways ranging from the simple release of energy by objects to the realization of abilities in people.
