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.
“When it’s people in these powerful positions, it does seem like the system moves differently for them.”
From Los Angeles Times
One bout of exercise, lasting just 10 minutes, sends powerful signals to the body.
From Science Daily
But researchers are finding that the brain also has a powerful influence, especially in how hard physical effort feels.
From Science Daily
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a royal commission, the country's most powerful form of independent inquiry, into last month's shooting at Bondi Beach.
From BBC
“Even if the U.S. doesn’t intervene in Greenland, this whole talk of the town about Greenland already represents a very powerful message to Moscow,” he said.
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.
