mighty
Americanadjective
-
mightier,
comparative
-
mightiest
superlative
-
having, characterized by, or showing superior power or strength.
mighty rulers.
- Antonyms:
- feeble
-
of great size; huge.
a mighty oak.
- Synonyms:
- sizable, tremendous, enormous, immense
- Antonyms:
- small
-
great in amount, extent, degree, or importance; exceptional.
a mighty accomplishment.
adverb
noun
adjective
-
-
having or indicating might; powerful or strong
-
( as collective noun; preceded by the )
the mighty
-
-
very large; vast
-
very great in extent, importance, etc
adverb
Usage
What does mighty mean? Mighty means extremely strong (as in a mighty warrior) or powerful (as in a mighty king). The noun might most commonly means great strength or power. People who are mighty in this way are sometimes referred to collectively as the mighty, in the same way that the rich is sometimes used, as in The rich and mighty hold all the power. The expression how the mighty have fallen is used to comment on a once powerful or popular person or thing that is now much less powerful or popular. Mighty can also mean of great size—especially big for its kind, as in a mighty oak. Less commonly, mighty means of great importance, as in a mighty accomplishment. Sometimes, mighty is used as a very informal way of saying very or extremely, as in That’s a mighty fine hat you’re wearing. This use of mighty can sound a bit old-fashioned or folksy. The adverb form of mighty is mightily. The phrase high and mighty is often used as an adverb meaning in an arrogant or self-important manner, as in Please stop acting so high and mighty—you’re not the boss here. It can also be used as an adjective, in which case it’s often hyphenated (high-and-mighty). The phrase can also be used as a collective noun in the same way that mighty can, as in The high and mighty take too much and give too little. Example: He was a mighty ruler, and his empire extended to the ends of the earth.
Synonym Usage
See powerful.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of mighty
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mihtig; see might 2, -y 1
Explanation
Something that's mighty is large and powerful. Mighty Mouse is no ordinary mouse; he's a superhero. It's best not to mess with anyone with mighty in their name. A mighty beast in a fairy tale is ferocious and intimidating, and a mighty power in the business world exerts great influence. Colloquially, you can also use mighty to emphasize something, or to mean "extremely." This informal use is especially common in the U.S. South, where a host might say, "We're mighty glad to have you!" Mighty comes from the Old English root mæht, "strength or power."
Vocabulary lists containing mighty
"Death, be not proud" by John Donne
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"Roberto Clemente: Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates"
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Strong
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
From board level to coaching and playing, the whole operation looks humdrum and in need of a mighty shake.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
Rhys didn’t react like his characters might have — instead, he thanked his homeland: “To the great and good people of Wales… we are a small but mighty nation!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
Remember: Every sport is in a death battle with the mighty NFL, including the Open, which bafflingly concludes in the thick of Week 1 Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
And in the other corner, the mighty underdogs: Nathan Fielder and some guy from YouTube.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
“That looks like a mighty thick stack of paper, Clarence.”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
The dollar has always been mightier than the size of the U.S. economy suggests it should be.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
The bigger the overshoot window, the mightier the cost.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 26, 2024
A more modern, but perhaps mightier threat to the corner store than that of the supermarket is the dollar store.
From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2024
The trick, of course, is to envision us as something mightier than we are in order to validate what is then done to us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2022
Nighttime waves crash mightier and louder than daytime ones.
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
He was a tough, burly defender, the sort of competitor they would need if they were going to go toe-to-toe with soccer’s mightiest superpowers in the World Cup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Like their hero, the only masculine strength they seem interested in is the kind performed for cameras, far away from real-world challenges that might easily defeat their self-image as the mightiest of men.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2026
Donner Peak could get 12 to 18 inches of snow, and the California Highway Patrol is expected to require motorists to use chains to cross California’s mightiest mountain range.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2025
But as for who is mightiest between the two heavyweights, the 25-year-old said Tuesday's match will tell.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025
“And crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
