eventual

English

Etymology

From event +‎ -ual; compare French éventuel. The third sense is influenced by any of several European languages, including German eventuell, French éventuel, Italian eventuale, Spanish eventual, Swedish eventuell.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˈvɛn.(t)ʃʊ.əl/, /ɪˈvɛn.(t)ʃ.əl/, /ə-/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪˈvɛn.t͡ʃu.əl/, /ɪˈvɛn.t͡ʃəl/, /ə-/
• Homophone: evential (for some speakers)

Adjective

eventual (not comparable)

1. Finally resulting or occurring (after a period of time); inevitable.
2. Pertaining to events; event-related, evential.
3. (proscribed, non-native speakers' English or European Union) Possible, potential.

   They both opposed an eventual imposition of anti-dumping measures as they considered that it could lead to a cessation of imports of the product concerned from the PRC79.

Synonyms

The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates {{syn|en|...}} or {{ant|en|...}}.

• soon-to-be

Derived terms

• eventualise
• eventualism
• eventualist
• eventuality
• eventually

Translations

finally resulting

• Bulgarian: неизбежен (bg) (neizbežen)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} fina
• Polish: nieuchronny (pl), ostateczny (pl)
• Portuguese: finalmente (pt)
• Spanish: inevitable (es)

pertaining to events

• Bulgarian: евентуален (bg) (eventualen), възможен (bg) (văzmožen)
• Polish: zdarzeniowy
• Portuguese: eventualmente (pt)
• Spanish: eventual (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Afrikaans: ^{(please verify)} moontlik (af), ^{(please verify)} gebeurlik, ^{(please verify)} gevolglik
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} uiteindelijk (nl)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} eventual (ro)

Galician

Adjective

eventual m or f (plural eventuais)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Related terms

• eventualidade
• eventualmente

Further reading

• “eventual”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Portuguese

Etymology

By surface analysis, evento +‎ -ual.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /e.vẽ.tuˈaw/ [e.vẽ.tuˈaʊ̯], (faster) /e.vẽˈtwaw/ [e.vẽˈtwaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.vẽˈtwal/ [i.vẽˈtwaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.vẽˈtwal/ [i.vẽˈtwaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.bẽˈtwal/ [i.βẽˈtwaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.vẽˈtwa.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: e‧ven‧tu‧al

Adjective

eventual m or f (plural eventuais)

1. infrequent
2. casual
3. eventual

Derived terms

• eventualidade
• eventualmente

Related terms

• evento

Further reading

• “eventual”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “eventual”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French éventuel.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

eventual m or n (feminine singular eventuală, masculine plural eventuali, feminine/neuter plural eventuale)

1. prospective

Declension

Declension of eventual

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	eventual		eventuală	eventuali	eventuale
	definite	eventualul		eventuala	eventualii	eventualele
genitive- dative	indefinite	eventual		eventuale	eventuali	eventuale
	definite	eventualului		eventualei	eventualilor	eventualelor

Spanish

Etymology

By surface analysis, evento +‎ -al. Ultimately based off Latin ēventuālis. The "eventual", "happening eventually" sense is a semantic loan from English eventual.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ebenˈtwal/ [e.β̞ẽn̪ˈt̪wal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: e‧ven‧tual
• IPA^(key): /ebentuˈal/ [e.β̞ẽn̪.t̪uˈal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: e‧ven‧tu‧al

Adjective

eventual m or f (masculine and feminine plural eventuales)

1. potential, possible
2. sporadic
3. temporary (employee, contract)
4. eventual (pertaining to events)
5. (proscribed) eventual (that happens eventually)

Derived terms

• eventualidad
• eventualmente

Further reading

• “eventual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025