powerful

[pou-er-fuhl]

adjective

1. having or exerting great power or force.

   Synonyms: strong, forceful
   Antonyms: weak

2. physically strong, as a person.

   a large, powerful athlete.

3. producing great physical effects, as a machine or a blow.

4. potent; efficacious.

   a powerful drug.

5. having great effectiveness, as a speech, speaker, description, reason, etc.

   Synonyms: effective, cogent, forcible, convincing, influential

6. having great power, authority, or influence; mighty.

   a powerful nation.

7. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.,  great in number or amount.

   a powerful lot of money.

powerful

/ ˈpaʊəfʊl /

adjective

1. having great power, force, potency, or effect

2. extremely effective or efficient in action

   a powerful drug

   a powerful lens

3. dialect,  large or great

   a powerful amount of trouble

adverb

1. dialect,  extremely; very

   he ran powerful fast

Other Word Forms

• powerfully adverb
• powerfulness noun
• overpowerful adjective
• overpowerfully adverb
• overpowerfulness noun
• quasi-powerful adjective
• quasi-powerfully adverb
• superpowerful adjective
• ultrapowerful adjective
• unpowerful adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of powerful¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, powerful is from the Middle English word powarfull. See power, -ful

Synonym Study

Powerful, mighty, potent suggest great force or strength. Powerful suggests capability of exerting great force or overcoming strong resistance: a powerful machine like a bulldozer. Mighty, now chiefly rhetorical, implies uncommon or overwhelming strength of power: a mighty army. Potent implies great natural or inherent power: a potent influence.

Example Sentences

The world's most powerful man wants the world's most prestigious award.

Read more on BBC

For instance, neodymium is used to make the powerful magnets used in loudspeakers, computer hard drives, electric car motors and jet engines that enable them to be smaller and more efficient.

Read more on BBC

The danger, experts say, is how these powerful new tools, now affordable to almost anyone, can be used.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Their groundbreaking albums and chart-topping hits challenged industry norms and established the ‘Dirty South’ as a powerful creative force,” the institution previously wrote of the Georgia-born duo on Instagram.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Doing so would ‘clear the path for a one-party system where power serves the powerful and silences the people,” Black Voters Matter Fund co-founder LaTosha Brown said in a statement.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• all-powerful 
• authoritative 
• capable 
• compelling 
• dominant 
• dynamic 
• energetic 
• forceful 
• impressive 
• influential 
• mighty 
• persuasive 
• potent 
• robust 
• vigorous