eventual(ly)

Eventual and eventually mean ‘final(ly)’, ‘in the end’, ‘after all that’. We use them to say that something happens after a long time or a lot of effort.

• The chess game lasted for three days. Androv was the eventual winner.
• The car didn’t want to start, but eventually I got it going.

Eventual and eventually are ‘false friends’ for people who speak some languages. They do not mean the same as, for instance, French éventuel/éventuellement, Dutch eventueel or Polish ewentualny/ewentualnie, and are not used to express the idea of possibility. For this meaning we use possible, perhaps, if, may, might, etc.

• In our new house I’d like to have a spare bedroom for possible visitors. (not … eventual visitors.)
• I’m not sure what I’ll do next year. I could look for a job here, or I might go to America. (not Eventually I’ll go to America …)