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View synonyms for

powerful

[ pou-er-fuhl ]

adjective

  1. having or exerting great power or force.

    Synonyms: ,

    Antonyms:

  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: , , , ,

  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

/ ˈ貹ʊəʊ /

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

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. dialect.
    extremely; very

    he ran powerful fast

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈǷɱڳܱԱ, noun
  • ˈǷɱڳܱ, adverb
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Other Word Forms

  • Ƿİ·ڳܱ· adverb
  • Ƿİ·ڳܱ·Ա noun
  • v·Ƿİ·ڳܱ adjective
  • over·Ƿİ·ڳܱ· adverb
  • over·Ƿİ·ڳܱ·Ա noun
  • ܲȴ-Ƿİ·ڳܱ adjective
  • quasi-Ƿİ·ڳܱ· adverb
  • p·Ƿİ·ڳܱ adjective
  • ܱt·Ƿİ·ڳܱ adjective
  • ܲ·Ƿİ·ڳܱ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of powerful1

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

Examples have not been reviewed.

They acknowledged a powerful “Desolation Row,” but also rose to applaud a particularly intense “Black Rider,” from Dylan’s most recent album.

From

He was also faced with a powerful and often critical media.

From

“Not having anyone to recruit their opinions or participation, the Vietnamese organized themselves into a powerful voting bloc and from then on, you saw all kinds of candidates running for all kinds of seats.”

From

Fauxitude takes on another more general but profound meaning when we are required to maintain a falsely pleasant and accommodating attitude, regardless of our true feelings, powerful ideas and drive to collaborate and succeed.

From

The DfE said it wanted to make inspections "more powerful" and "more transparent".

From

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