Futurities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The notion encompasses potential future occurrences or situations that may arise due to present conditions and decisions
2. It indicates a range of possible outcomes and scenarios that could develop over time based on current choices and events
3. The term refers to a spectrum of potential future events that may unfold as a result of existing variables and decisions made in the present

Etymology: "Futurities" is the plural of "futurity", which English built by attaching the suffix "-ity" to the adjective "future". The suffix has a long pedigree: it passed from Latin "-itas" through Old French "-ite" into Middle English "-ite", and eventually settled into the familiar English "-ity" used to turn adjectives into abstract nouns, as in "curiosity" or "security". The result is a word that turns the adjective "future" into a thing you can count. "Future" on its own describes what is yet to come, but "futurity" names the state of being future, the quality of lying ahead, and its plural treats those possibilities as separate items. That is why the plural suits the meaning here: the word gathers together the many things that might happen because of what is decided today.

Synonyms: tomorrows, prospects, futures, destinies, possibilities

Antonyms: pasts, histories, retrospects, ancients, yesterdays