powerful

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pow·er·ful

(pou′ər-fəl)

adj.

1. Having or capable of exerting power.

2. Effective or potent: a powerful drug.

3. Chiefly Upper Southern US Great: "[Everybody had] a powerful lot to say about faith and good works and free grace ... and I don't know what all" (Mark Twain).

adv. Chiefly Upper Southern US

Very: It was powerful humid.

pow′er·ful·ly adv.

pow′er·ful·ness n.

Our Living Language In the Upper Southern United States the words powerful and mighty are intensives used frequently in the same way as very: Your boy's grown powerful big. The new baby is mighty purty. Powerful is used as an adjective in some expressions: The storm did a powerful lot of harm. In the same dialect region the noun power has, in addition to its standard meaning, the sense of "a large number or amount." This sense appears in the Oxford English Dictionary as common in dialectal British English of the 1700s and 1800s: "It has done a power of work" (Charles Dickens). All these derivative senses of power and might take advantage of the notion of strength inherent in these nouns, making them natural intensives.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

powerful

(ˈpaʊəfʊl)

adj

1. having great power, force, potency, or effect

2. (Chemistry) extremely effective or efficient in action: a powerful drug; a powerful lens.

3. dialect large or great: a powerful amount of trouble.

adv

dialect extremely; very: he ran powerful fast.

ˈpowerfully adv

ˈpowerfulness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pow•er•ful

(ˈpaʊ ər fəl)

adj.

1. having or exerting great power or force.

2. physically strong, as a person.

3. potent; efficacious: a powerful drug.

4. having great power, authority, or influence; mighty.

5. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. great in number or amount: a powerful lot of money.

[1350–1400]

pow′er•ful•ly, adv.

pow′er•ful•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	powerful - having great power or force or potency or effect; "the most powerful government in western Europe"; "his powerful arms"; "a powerful bomb"; "the horse's powerful kick"; "powerful drugs"; "a powerful argument" effective, effectual, efficacious - producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect; "an air-cooled motor was more effective than a witch's broomstick for rapid long-distance transportation"-LewisMumford; "effective teaching methods"; "effective steps toward peace"; "made an effective entrance"; "his complaint proved to be effectual in bringing action"; "an efficacious law" potent, stiff, strong - having a strong physiological or chemical effect; "a potent toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea", "a stiff drink" strong - having strength or power greater than average or expected; "a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong man" powerless - lacking power
	2.	powerful - strong enough to knock down or overwhelm; "a knock-down blow" knock-down strong - having strength or power greater than average or expected; "a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong man"
	3.	powerful - having great influence potent influential - having or exercising influence or power; "an influential newspaper"; "influential leadership for peace"
	4.	powerful - (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful; "a hefty athlete"; "a muscular boxer"; "powerful arms" brawny, hefty, sinewy, muscular strong - having strength or power greater than average or expected; "a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong man"
	5.	powerful - displaying superhuman strength or power; "herculean exertions" herculean superhuman - above or beyond the human or demanding more than human power or endurance; "superhuman beings"; "superhuman strength"; "soldiers driven mad by superhuman misery"
Adv.	1.	powerful - (Southern regional intensive) very; to a great degree; "the baby is mighty cute"; "he's mighty tired"; "it is powerful humid"; "that boy is powerful big now"; "they have a right nice place"; "they rejoiced mightily" mighty, mightily, right intensifier, intensive - a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies; "`up' in `finished up' is an intensifier"; "`honestly' in `I honestly don't know' is an intensifier"

powerful

adjective

1. influential, dominant, controlling, commanding, supreme, prevailing, sovereign, authoritative, puissant You're a powerful woman - people will listen to you.
influential weak, ineffectual, powerless, impotent

2. strong, strapping, mighty, robust, vigorous, potent, energetic, sturdy, stalwart a big, powerful man
strong weak, feeble, frail, debilitated, decrepit, delicate, effete, fragile, infirm, puny, sickly, unsteady, wasted, weakly, shaky

3. effective, hard, strong a powerful and fast-acting drug
effective weak, ineffective, inefficacious, useless

4. intoxicating, strong, heady tiny flowers with a powerful scent

5. loud, booming, resounding, sonorous, stentorian He had a deep, powerful voice.
loud weak faint, feeble, quiet, soft, low, shaky, languid, unsteady, muffled, small

6. persuasive, convincing, effective, telling, moving, striking, storming, dramatic, impressive, compelling, authoritative, forceful, weighty, forcible, cogent, effectual a powerful drama about a corrupt city leader

7. intense, strong, burning, keen, violent, acute, overwhelming, consuming, fierce, passionate, irresistible, overpowering, ardent, fervent, fervid in the grip of a powerful emotion

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

powerful

adjective

1. Having great physical strength:

mighty, potent, puissant, strong.

2. Conveying great physical force:

hard, heavy, hefty, severe.

3. Having or able to exert great power:

mighty, potent, puissant.

4. Full of or displaying force:

dynamic, dynamical, effective, forceful, forcible, hard-hitting, strong, vigorous.

5. Having or exercising influence:

consequential, important, influential, weighty.

Translations

قَوي، ذو سُلْطَه أو تأثيرقَوِيّ

vlivnývýkonný

magtfuld

mächtig stark

ισχυρός

poderoso potente convincente fuerte

voimakas

puissant

moćan

öflugur

potente valido poderoso possente

強力な

강력한

močan

mäktig

ที่มีอิทธิพล

güçlü

nhiều quyền lực

强大的强有力的

powerful

[ˈpaʊəfʊl] ADJ

1. (= influential, controlling) [person, government, force, influence] → poderoso
see also all-powerful

2. (= physically strong) [person] → fuerte, fornido; [animal, physique, arms, muscles] → fuerte

3. (= having great force or power) [engine, magnet, computer, explosive] → potente; [kick, explosion, smell] → fuerte; [voice] → potente, fuerte; [swimmer] → resistente

4. (= having a strong effect) [drug] → potente; [emotion] → intenso, profundo; [argument] → poderoso, convincente; [performance, film, novel] → impactante, que deja huella; [speech] → conmovedor
he gave a powerful performance → su actuación fue impactante or de las que deja huella
we have powerful evidence for this → tenemos pruebas contundentes de esto
this information is a powerful weapon against the government → esta información es un arma potente contra el gobierno

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

powerful

[ˈpaʊə^rf^ʊl] adj

(= influential) [person, country, group] → puissant(e)
Hong Kong's powerful business community → la puissante communauté d'affaires de Hong-Kong

(= strong) [person, muscles, body] → puissant(e); [dog, horse] → puissant(e)
She was a very powerful swimmer → C'était une nageuse très puissante.

(= very efficient or effective) [machine, car, drug, detergent] → puissant(e); [blow, kick] → puissant(e)

[scent, smell] → puissant(e)

[voice] → puissant(e)

[argument, evidence] → puissant(e)

[drama, opera, performance] → puissant(e)

[emotions, feeling] → puissant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

powerful

adj

(= influential) government, person → mächtig, einflussreich

(= strong) boxer, engine, drug, emotions, computer, evidence, influence, message → stark; swimmer → kraftvoll, stark; build, arm, kick, light → kräftig; stroke, punch, detergent → kraftvoll; bomb → stark, zerstörerisch, von großer Durchschlagskraft; earthquake, storm → stark, massiv; smell → massiv, überwältigend; voice → kräftig, kraftvoll

(fig) speaker, actor → mitreißend; music, film, performance → ausdrucksvoll, mitreißend; argument → durchschlagend, massiv (inf); salesman → überzeugend

a powerful lot of (dial) → ganz schön viel (inf), → gehörig viel (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

powerful

[ˈpaʊəfʊl] adj (gen) → potente, forte; (person, physically) → possente; (film, actor, speech) → formidabile

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

power

(ˈpauə) noun

1. (an) ability. A witch has magic power; A cat has the power of seeing in the dark; He no longer has the power to walk.

2. strength, force or energy. muscle power; water-power; (also adjective) a power tool (=a tool operated by electricity etc. not by hand).

3. authority or control. political groups fighting for power; How much power does the Queen have?; I have him in my power at last

4. a right belonging to eg a person in authority. The police have the power of arrest.

5. a person with great authority or influence. He is quite a power in the town.

6. a strong and influential country. the Western powers.

7. the result obtained by multiplying a number by itself a given number of times. 2  2  2 or 2³ is the third power of 2, or 2 to the power of 3.

ˈpowered adjective

supplied with mechanical power. The machine is powered by electricity; an electrically-powered machine.

ˈpowerful adjective

having great strength, influence etc. a powerful engine; He's powerful in local politics.

ˈpowerfully adverb

ˈpowerfulness noun

ˈpowerless adjective

having no power. The king was powerless to prevent the execution.

ˈpowerlessness noun

power cut/failure

a break in the electricity supply. We had a power cut last night.

ˌpower-ˈdriven adjective

worked by electricity or other mechanical means, not by hand.

power point

a socket on a wall etc into which an electric plug can be fitted.

power station

a building where electricity is produced.

be in power

(of a political party) to be the governing party.

powerful

→ قَوِيّ vlivný magtfuld mächtig ισχυρός poderoso voimakas puissant moćan potente 強力な 강력한 machtig mektig potężny poderoso могущественный mäktig ที่มีอิทธิพล güçlü nhiều quyền lực 强大的

powerful

adj (medication, etc.) potente, fuerte

References in classic literature ?

Again, the prince who holds a country differing in the above respects ought to make himself the head and defender of his less powerful neighbours, and to weaken the more powerful amongst them, taking care that no foreigner as powerful as himself shall, by any accident, get a footing there; for it will always happen that such a one will be introduced by those who are discontented, either through excess of ambition or through fear, as one has seen already.

View in context

Then each sheet of the water, from the lowest to the highest, running off into escape tubes toward the top of the projectile, constituted a kind of spring; and the wooden disc, supplied with extremely powerful plugs, could not strike the lowest plate except after breaking successively the different partitions.

View in context

"And would it be indiscreet to ask you the name of this powerful protector?"

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Conflicting moral codes have been no more than the conflicting weapons of different classes of men; for in mankind there is a continual war between the powerful, the noble, the strong, and the well-constituted on the one side, and the impotent, the mean, the weak, and the ill-constituted on the other.

View in context

It may be said that it would tend to render the government of the Union too powerful, and to enable it to absorb those residuary authorities, which it might be judged proper to leave with the States for local purposes.

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But if the men of property in the state are but few, and their property is large, then an oligarchy of the second sort will take place; for those who have most power will think that they have a right to lord it over the others; and, to accomplish this, they will associate to themselves some who have an inclination for public affairs, and as they are not powerful enough to govern without law, they will make a law for that purpose.

View in context

I knew this, in a measure then, as I know it now, and yet neither the literary pride I was beginning to have in the perception of such things, nor the powerful appeal it made to my sympathies, sufficed to impassion me of it.

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Also that there was no one in Ev powerful enough to release them.

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Here he is," she said to herself, seeing his powerful, shy figure, with his shining eyes fixed on her.

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I was powerful glad he didn't get killed, and so was Tom, and we wondered which he would like the best--for us to never let on to know him, or how?

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Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the URGENT question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy.

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"There is a powerful agent, obedient, rapid, easy, which conforms to every use, and reigns supreme on board my vessel.