powerful

Having, or capable of exerting, power or influence.

Adjective

  1. Having, or capable of exerting, power or influence.
    • The powerful grace that lies / In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities. - c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories,...
    • [T]he ſubſtance of gold is indeed invincible by the povverfulleſt action of natural heat, […] - 1646, Thomas Browne, “Compendiously of Sundry Tenents Concerning Minerall and Terreous Bodies, which Examined, Prove either...
    • 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 eager to help, and...
  2. Leading to many or important deductions.
    • a powerful set of postulates
    • a powerful theorem

    Synonyms: heavy

  3. Large; capacious; said of veins of ore.
  4. Being a powerful number.

    Synonyms: squareful

Origin

From Middle English pouerful, powarfull. By surface analysis, power + -ful.

Forms

more powerful most powerful powreful powrefull

Synonyms

mightful mighty potent powersome strengthful strong forceful

Antonyms

powerless strengthless

Related

strong

Derived

all-powerful nonpowerful overpowerful powerfully powerfulness powerful owl semipowerful superpowerful ultrapowerful unpowerful

Adverb

  1. very; extremely
    • "She was stinkin' hot down here that summer, an' we were powerful dry." - 1972, John O'Grady, It's Your Shout, Mate, Ure Smith, page 59:

Forms

more powerful most powerful powreful powrefull