adj · adv · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈpaʊəfl̩/
General-American:/ˈpaʊɚfl̩/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P AW1 ER0 F AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Having, or capable of exerting, power or influence.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Leading to many or important deductions.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
a powerful set of postulates
a powerful theorem
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: heavy
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Large; capacious; said of veins of ore.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: business, mining
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Being a powerful number.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Topics: mathematics, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: squareful
Antonyms: none provided
5
adv
Meaning 5
very; extremely
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Southern-US, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
adjective
Meaning 6
having great power or force or potency or effect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the most powerful government in western Europe
his powerful arms
a powerful bomb
the horse's powerful kick
powerful drugs
a powerful argument
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: powerless
7
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
displaying superhuman strength or power
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
herculean exertions
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: herculean
Antonyms: none provided
8
adjective satellite
Meaning 8
having great influence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: potent
Antonyms: none provided
9
adjective satellite
Meaning 9
(of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a hefty athlete
a muscular boxer
powerful arms
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: brawny, hefty, muscular, sinewy
Antonyms: none provided
10
adjective satellite
Meaning 10
strong enough to knock down or overwhelm
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a knock-down blow
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: knock-down(a)
Antonyms: none provided
11
adverb
Meaning 11
(Southern regional intensive) very; to a great degree
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
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
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mighty, mightily, right
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Middle English pouerful, powarfull. By surface analysis, power + -ful.
Across languages
Translations
138 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
قَوِيّ
(qawiyy)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Armenian:
ուժեղ
(užeġ)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Armenian:
հզոր
(hzor)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Armenian:
զորեղ
(zoreġ)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Asturian:
poderosu
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Azerbaijani:
güclü
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Basque:
ahaldun
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Belarusian:
мо́цны
(mócny)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Belarusian:
магу́тны
(mahútny)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Belarusian:
пату́жны
(patúžny)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Bengali:
শক্ত
(śokto)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Bhojpuri:
शक्तिशाली
(śaktiśālī)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Breton:
galloudeg
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Bulgarian:
мо́щен
(móšten)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Bulgarian:
могъ́щ
(mogǎ́št)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Catalan:
potent
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Catalan:
poderós
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Cherokee:
ᎤᎳᏂᎩᏛ
(ulanigidv)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Chinese Mandarin:
強大 /强大
(qiángdà)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Chinese Mandarin:
強勁 /强劲
(qiángjìng)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Chinese Mandarin:
強力 /强力
(qiánglì)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Corsican:
putente
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Corsican:
putenti
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Corsican:
potente
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Czech:
mocný
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Czech:
účinný
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Danish:
mægtig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Dutch:
machtig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Dutch:
krachtig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Egyptian:
wsr-s-r:D40
(wsr)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Esperanto:
potenca
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Estonian:
võimas
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Finnish:
voimakas
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Finnish:
vahva
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Finnish:
mahtava
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Finnish:
voimallinen
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Finnish:
tehokas
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
French:
puissant
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Friulian:
potent
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Galician:
poderoso
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Galician:
potente
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Georgian:
ძლევამოსილი
(ʒlevamosili)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Georgian:
ძლიერი
(ʒlieri)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Georgian:
გავლენიანი
(gavleniani)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
German:
mächtig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
German:
kräftig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
German:
kraftvoll
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Gothic:
𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐌴𐌹𐌲𐍃
(mahteigs)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Greek:
ισχυρός
(ischyrós)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ancient Greek:
δυνατός
(dunatós)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ancient Greek:
ἰσχυρός
(iskhurós)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Hebrew:
עוצמתי
(‘otsmatí)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Hindi:
शक्तिशाली
(śaktiśālī)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Hindi:
बली
(balī)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Hindi:
शक्तिमान
(śaktimān)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Hungarian:
erőteljes
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Icelandic:
öflugur
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Icelandic:
voldugur
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Icelandic:
máttugur
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Icelandic:
kröftugur
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Icelandic:
kraftmikill
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Icelandic:
valdamikill
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ingrian:
vahva
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ingrian:
see Thesaurus:vahva
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
cumhachtach
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
cumasach
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
láidir
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
éifeachtach
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
neartmhar
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
bríomhar
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Irish:
tréan
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Italian:
potente
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Italian:
efficace
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Japanese:
強力な
(kyōryoku na)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Japanese:
強い
(tsuyoi)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Kazakh:
күшті
(küştı)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Khmer:
ខ្លាំងពូកែ
(khlangpuukae)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Khmer:
ខ្លាំងក្លា
(khlangklaa)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Korean:
강하다
(ganghada)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Korean:
강력하다
(gangnyeokhada)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Central Kurdish:
کار بەدەست
(kar bedest)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Central Kurdish:
بەھێز
(behêz)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Kyrgyz:
күчтүү
(küctüü)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Latin:
imperiōsus
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Latin:
potens
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Macedonian:
моќен
(moḱen)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Malay:
berkuasa
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Eastern Mari:
виян
(vijan)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Mirandese:
poderoso
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Mirandese:
podroso
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Norman:
piêssant
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Norwegian Bokmål:
kraftfull
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Norwegian Bokmål:
mektig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kraftfull
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Norwegian Nynorsk:
mektig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Occitan:
potent
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Occitan:
poderós
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Old English:
wealdende
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Old English:
mihtiġ
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Persian:
قوی
(qavi)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Piedmontese:
potent
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Polish:
mocny
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Polish:
potężny
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Portuguese:
poderoso
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Portuguese:
potente
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Romagnol:
putént
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Russian:
могу́щественный
(mogúščestvennyj)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Russian:
могу́чий
(mogúčij)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Russian:
мо́щный
(móščnyj)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Russian:
влия́тельный
(vlijátelʹnyj)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Sanskrit:
उग्र
(ugra)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Sanskrit:
विभूति
(vibhūti)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Scottish Gaelic:
cumhachdach
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Serbo-Croatian:
мо̏ћан
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Serbo-Croatian:
mȍćan
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Slovak:
mocný
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Slovene:
močan
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Spanish:
poderoso
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Spanish:
pudiente
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Swedish:
mäktig
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Tajik:
қавӣ
(qavi)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Telugu:
బలమైన
(balamaina)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Telugu:
శక్తివంతం
(śaktivantaṁ)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Turkish:
güçlü
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ottoman Turkish:
نفوذلو
(nüfuzlu)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Turkmen:
güýçli
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ukrainian:
могу́тній
(mohútnij)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ukrainian:
міцни́й
(micnýj)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Ukrainian:
поту́жний
(potúžnyj)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Unami:
alëwilësi
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Uzbek:
kuchli
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Vietnamese:
mạnh mẽ
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Vietnamese:
hùng mạnh
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Vietnamese:
hùng cường
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Welsh:
pwerus
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Yiddish:
מעכטיג
(mekhtig)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Yiddish:
שטאַרק
(shtark)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence
Yiddish:
כּוחדיק
(koyekhdik)
— having or capable of exerting power, potency or influence