powerful
Americanadjective
-
having or exerting great power or force.
- Antonyms:
- weak
-
physically strong, as a person.
a large, powerful athlete.
-
producing great physical effects, as a machine or a blow.
-
potent; efficacious.
a powerful drug.
-
having great effectiveness, as a speech, speaker, description, reason, etc.
- Synonyms:
- effective, cogent, forcible, convincing, influential
-
having great power, authority, or influence; mighty.
a powerful nation.
-
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. great in number or amount.
a powerful lot of money.
adjective
-
having great power, force, potency, or effect
-
extremely effective or efficient in action
a powerful drug
a powerful lens
-
dialect large or great
a powerful amount of trouble
adverb
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
- overpowerful adjective
- overpowerfully adverb
- overpowerfulness noun
- powerfully adverb
- powerfulness noun
- quasi-powerful adjective
- quasi-powerfully adverb
- superpowerful adjective
- ultrapowerful adjective
- unpowerful adjective
Etymology
Origin of powerful
First recorded in 1350–1400, powerful is from the Middle English word powarfull. See power, -ful
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 province has for decades been dominated by a single powerful clan, the Pitutecha family.
From BBC
"These are very beautiful moments, very powerful ones," he said.
From Barron's
In separate speeches and question-and-answer sessions, the two voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee described AI as a powerful long-run force for innovation.
From Barron's
The powerful striker held off his marker and beat goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who handled the shot poorly and might have kept it out.
From Barron's
It first broke beneath the 200 day in late January, a level that had acted as a powerful springboard last April, marking a notable shift in character.
From Barron's
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.
