powerful

UK /ˈpaʊəfl̩/ US /ˈpaʊɚfl̩/

adj 4adv 1

Definitions

adj

Having, or capable of exerting, power or influence.

The powerful grace that lies / In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities.

[T]he ſubſtance of gold is indeed invincible by the povverfulleſt action of natural heat, […]

Leading to many or important deductions.

a powerful set of postulates

a powerful theorem

Large; capacious; said of veins of ore.

Being a powerful number.

adv

very; extremely

"She was stinkin' hot down here that summer, an' we were powerful dry."

Collocations

(adj.)

VERBS

be, feel, look, seem

become

ADV

enormously, especially, exceptionally, extraordinarily, extremely, immensely, incredibly, particularly, really, remarkably, surprisingly, tremendously, unusually, very

increasingly

fairly, pretty, quite, reasonably, relatively

enough, sufficiently

The new software proved powerful enough to handle thousands of files at once.

potentially

economically, politically

The tech company became economically powerful after launching its most popular app.

locally

The mayor was locally powerful in her district but had little influence at the national level.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

adjective — displaying superhuman strength or power

herculean

adjective — having great influence

potent

adjective — (of a person) possessing physical strength and weight

adverb — (Southern regional intensive) very

Antonyms

powerless

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

The powerful grace that lies / In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities.

Wiktionary

[T]he ſubſtance of gold is indeed invincible by the povverfulleſt action of natural heat, […]

Wiktionary

As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and

Wiktionary

"She was stinkin' hot down here that summer, an' we were powerful dry."

Wiktionary

Our team competed with a powerful rival.

Tatoeba · #23457

Matt is a powerful acquisition for our team.

Tatoeba · #32517

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, powerful is marked as archaic. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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