futurity
noun
-ˈtyu̇r-
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For a forward-looking word, futurity has quite the literate past. Its first known use comes from Act III of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, when the downtrodden Cassio, mystified about why Othello has turned against him, beseeches Desdemona to tell him whether his “offense be of such mortal kind / That nor my service past, nor present sorrows, / Nor purpos’d merit in futurity / Can ransom me into his love again.” Centuries later the Scottish writer Walter Scott wrote of events still in “the womb of futurity,” employing a phrase also used by James Fenimore Cooper, among others. Though still in use and very much useful, futurity tends to lend one’s speech or writing a lofty tone, so if the situation calls for something more down-to-earth, you may want to go back to [the] future.
Examples of futurity in a Sentence
Essence, 25 Nov. 2024
Centrally, by having a coltan miner as the protagonist, the film links futurity with materiality and labor.
—Ruby Thélot, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024
Next October his first set of quarter horses are set to go into futurity, a competition which offers staggering prize money to winners.
—Eric Jackson, Sportico.com, 19 July 2024
My interest in fantasy and sci-fi and thinking about this kind of notion around futurity.
—Essence, 19 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for futurity 
Dictionary Entries Near futurity
Cite this Entry
“Futurity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/futurity. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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futurity
noun
-ˈchu̇r-
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