higher power

Or High·er Pow·er

[hahy-er pou-er]

noun

1. a deity or another powerful but unknowable force, conceptualized variously as the Supreme Being, nature, the universe, invisible energy, etc., to which appeals or prayers may be directed, or in the context of which explanations of life and circumstances may be imagined.

   Trust that a higher power is guiding you, especially in this dark period—diamonds are created under pressure, after all.

2. God.

   We ask the Creator, our Higher Power, for wisdom in these times.

Word History and Origins

Origin of higher power¹

First recorded in 1550–70; indirect reference to God

Example Sentences

Despite the church setting, Lincoln’s text never mentioned a higher power.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

With Nvidia’s GPU road map and its higher power density, what challenges will the industry face?

Read more on Barron's

With the two district courts issuing competing rulings and getting no closer to a resolution, O’Rourke’s attorneys turned to a higher power — the 15th Court of Appeals.

Read more on Salon

It’s a work of pageantry, inspired in part by Hull’s fascination with medieval morality plays, specifically the story of “Everyman,” an examination of self and of our relationship to a higher power.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I would say the same thing my own higher power said to me in a meditation once: “Honey, why would we have designed the system in such a way as to guarantee your endless misery? Can’t you see that we designed you in such a way that everything you are searching for outside of you exists within you? Call off the search, sweetheart. You contain everything you need.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• church 
• creed 
• cult 
• denomination 
• doctrine 
• morality 
• myth 
• mythology 
• prayer 
• ritual 
• sect 
• spirituality 
• superstition 
• theology