omnipotence
AmericanEtymology
Origin of omnipotence
First recorded in 1560–70; from Late Latin omnipotentia, from Latin omnipotent-, stem of omnipotēns “all-powerful” ( omnipotent ) + -ia -y 3 ( def. ); -ence
Explanation
Omnipotence is unlimited power. Bosses who behave as if they have omnipotence believe they have absolute power over the employees, maybe even down to the type of ink pens they are allowed to use. The noun omnipotence describes having an enormous amount of power, or even an infinite amount. A giant corporation might appear to have omnipotence because of the control it has over its workers, the power it holds in government, and the monopoly it might have in its industry — it seems to be everywhere. Omnipotence basically means the quality of being Godlike. To pronounce it correctly, say "om-NIH-poe-tense."
Vocabulary lists containing omnipotence
A Brief History of Time
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Doctor Faustus
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Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 4
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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.
The pope made his strongest denunciation so far of the use of force on Saturday, calling out the “delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
The pope described the Kingdom of God as a "bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive."
From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026
What it emphatically cannot mean is acceding to powerlessness in the face of a bunch of institutions that are working to make it seem as if their omnipotence is inevitable, or irrevocable, or constitutionally overdetermined.
From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025
People who scored higher on the scale had greater control, which correlated with lower measures of hallucination severity and lower perceived malevolence and omnipotence of the voices.
From Salon • Jun. 3, 2025
Concealed within relativism there thus lies a dream of omnipotence, a fantasy recompense, perhaps, for the impotence and irrelevance of academic life.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
