Word family noun power superpower powerlessness empowerment adjective powerful ≠ powerless overpowering power powered verb power empower overpower adverb powerfully ≠ powerlessly overpoweringly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpowerfulpow‧er‧ful /ˈpaʊəfəl $ ˈpaʊr-/ ●●● S3 W2 adjective 1 importantPOWER a powerful person, organization, group etc is able to control and influence events and other people’s actions → powerless He was one of the most powerful men in Bohemia. a very influential and powerful family rich and powerful nations2 speech/film etcSTRONG FEELING OR BELIEF having a strong effect on someone’s feelings or opinions a powerful speechpowerful reasons/arguments (=reasons that make you think that something must be true) Good teamwork is a powerful tool (=very effective method) for effective management.3 feeling/effect a powerful feeling or effect is very strong or great Immigrants have had a powerful influence on the local culture. a powerful sense of tradition4 machine/weapon etcEFFECTIVE a powerful machine, engine, weapon etc is very effective and can do a lot a new generation of more powerful PCs a machine that is immensely powerful a powerful 24-valve engine a powerful telescope5 physically strongSTRONG FEELING OR BELIEF physically strong Jed was a powerful, well-built man. The females are smaller and less powerful than the males.► see thesaurus at strong 6 a lot of force a powerful blow, explosion etc has a lot of force an explosion ten times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb a powerful right-foot shot on goal winds powerful enough to uproot trees7 medicineMDEFFECT/INFLUENCE a powerful medicine or drug has a very strong effect on your body8 team/army etcBEAT/DEFEAT a powerful team, army etc is very strong and can easily defeat other teams or armies a powerful fighting force9 qualitySTRONG TASTE OR SMELL very strong, bright, loud etc a powerful singing voice the powerful headlights —powerfully adverb Christie is very powerfully built. → all-powerfulTHESAURUSpowerful a powerful person, organization, group etc is able to control and influence events and other people’s actionsthe world’s most powerful nationParliament had become more powerful than the King.a powerful political familyinfluential having a lot of power to influence what happens, because people pay attention to what you saya highly influential fashion designerHe’s one of the most influential figures in international politics.strong powerful – used about people or groups in politics who have a lot of supportersThe communists were particularly strong in the big industrial cities.He is a strong voice in the state assembly.dominant more powerful than other people, groups, countries etcShe was the dominant force in women’s tennis for many years.The company has a dominant position in the market. Examples from the Corpus
powerful• Nigeria is the most powerful and populous nation in black Africa.• The hospital subsequently discovered that her death was the result of a massive overdose of a powerful anticancer drug.• John held her in his powerful arms.• a powerful bomb• The recent dramatic growth of urban areas has been one powerful catalyst for change.• a powerful civil rights group• I was impressed with Dinsmore's powerful command of language.• He had gone for ever, to be replaced by the man she had really married, the ambitious and powerful Damian Flint.• Ammonia has a very powerful, distinctive smell.• Jealousy is a very powerful emotion.• The difficulty was partly political; the favoured regions, London notably, had powerful friends in the major teaching hospitals.• In many ways the most powerful impetus to greater concentrations came from the state.• Tyson landed a powerful left hook on Doulgas' chin.• Berlusconi was the owner of a powerful media empire.• Looking around the modern world, she was not encouraged; powerful men are often childless.• one of the most powerful men in US politics• Ten of the world's most powerful men met to discuss trade barriers.• The Steelers' powerful offense has scored over 25 points a game.• He was a tall man with a powerful physique.• But even notoriously conservative newspaper publishers recognize that the Web is a radical and powerful publishing medium.• There was a powerful smell coming from the laundry basket.• The powerful smell of cabbage, sardines, and body odor filled the train.• a powerful story of love and forgiveness.• The drug is a thousand times more powerful than LSD.• Parliament had become more powerful than the King.• This Civic is more powerful than the last model.• Her desire to hit him was so powerful that she had to force herself to leave the room at once.• MultiGen, meantime, has been made more powerful through a number of virtual reality options.powerful reasons/arguments• Despite these powerful arguments against mutual funds, there are still reasons why it makes sense for ordinary investors to own them.• It is a debate of daunting complexity, with powerful arguments both for and against joining.• There are, in fact, other powerful reasons for making jojoba a universal substitute for whale oil.• These were certainly powerful arguments for sending the coach back, but they did not prevail.• On the other hand, there are powerful arguments for tackling the problem.• While those are powerful arguments, more speed, extra refinement and sharper handling would put it right on the pace.• Both sides have powerful reasons to hold fast to their traditional positions.• Those are two powerful reasons why every text-based and still-picture-based interactive experiment like videotext has failed in the past.powerful influence• In the coming millennium, Dahl predicted, new telecommunications technology will exert a powerful influence for change on the democratic process.• The Evangelicals have become a powerful influence in the land and this lays them open to the wooing of politicians.• At every stage in the communication process we can detect the powerful influence of culture.• Peer pressure among journalists also can have a powerful influence on improving performance.• Children think in black and white, good and bad, and the comic has a powerful influence on shaping attitudes.• In naturally occurring decision environments, interactions between situational demands and self-referent factors can exert a powerful influence on the decision-making process.• Room temperature exerted a powerful influence on the going rate of any timekeeper.• The financial markets are themselves an immensely powerful influence which we can never afford to ignore.immensely powerful• But the controls are complex because the machine is immensely powerful.• He was about 5 foot 10 inches tall but immensely powerful.• Taken together, the new biotechnologies and the pending scientific insights will be immensely powerful.• Jack was never flurried, his cool, unruffled play was a hallmark of his game, along with some immensely powerful clearances.• Sometimes I would feel immensely powerful, feel that I, single-handedly, might change the course of Woolf scholarship.• The Savoyards also made Turin an immensely powerful fortress.• The financial markets are themselves an immensely powerful influence which we can never afford to ignore.• But there still remained immensely powerful ministers who led the fight for increased public investment and spending measures to cut unemployment. 