potentially

/pəˈtɛntʃəli/

/pəˈtɛnʃəli/

Use the adverb potentially to describe something that could happen or might be true. Your backyard leaf burning project, for example, is potentially dangerous.

When there's a possibility of something occurring or becoming reality, use the word potentially. All babies are potentially geniuses, and you might optimistically watch new TV comedies every fall in the belief that they're potentially funny. In other words, babies might turn out to be brilliant, and TV shows have the possibility of making you laugh out loud. The root word here is potential, from the Latin potentia, "power, might or force."

Definitions of potentially

1. adverb

   with a possibility of becoming actual
   “he is potentially dangerous”

   “potentially useful”