potenciar
verbCEFR B2
What does “potenciar” mean in English?
to enhance, to boost
to enhance, to boost (to amplify existing capacity; potenciar la competitividad / el capital humano)
Example sentences
La inversión en I+D es la vía más efectiva para potenciar la competitividad de las empresas a largo plazo.
Investment in R&D is the most effective way to enhance companies' competitiveness in the long term.
El programa busca potenciar las capacidades de los jóvenes en situación de vulnerabilidad social.
The programme seeks to enhance the capacities of young people in situations of social vulnerability.
Una comunicación interna eficaz puede potenciar el compromiso de los empleados de manera significativa.
Effective internal communication can significantly enhance employee engagement.
How to use it
Potenciar means 'to enhance', 'to boost', or 'to strengthen'. It is transitive and takes an abstract direct object: potenciar el capital humano, potenciar la competitividad, potenciar los lazos culturales. At B2 it appears in policy, development, and business registers. The noun is el potencial (potential). Don't confuse with mejorar (to improve — concrete incremental gains) — potenciar implies bringing latent capacity to its full expression or multiplying existing strengths.
Common mistake
Potenciar is not the same as mejorar (improve) or reforzar (reinforce). Mejorar implies fixing or correcting; potenciar implies amplifying what is already there. In policy documents, potenciar is often interchangeable with impulsar (to drive forward) and fomentar (to foster), but each carries a slightly different nuance — fomentar focuses on promotion, impulsar on momentum, potenciar on maximising inherent capacity.