powerful
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- controlling, authoritative, commanding, dominant, influential, prevailing
- strong, energetic, mighty, potent, strapping, sturdy, vigorous
- persuasive, cogent, compelling, convincing, effectual, forceful, impressive, striking, telling, weighty

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Antonyms: powerless
Contrasted words: faulty, feeble, flawed, impotent, inadequate, incompetent, weak
Related Words: able, capable, competent, effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient, dynamic, energetic, strenuous, vigorous, convincing, great, invincible, authoritative, dominant, influential, weighty

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English Thesaurus: powerful, influential, strong, dominant, muscular, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

pow‧er‧ful S3 W2 /ˈpaʊəfəl $ ˈpaʊr-/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: power, superpower, powerlessness, empowerment; adjective: powerful ≠ powerless, overpowering, power, powered; verb: power, empower, overpower; adverb: powerfully ≠ powerlessly, overpoweringly]

1. IMPORTANT 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 nations

2. SPEECH/FILM ETC having a strong effect on someone’s feelings or opinions:
a powerful speech
powerful 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 tradition

4. MACHINE/WEAPON ETC 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 telescope

5. PHYSICALLY STRONG physically strong:
Jed was a powerful, well-built man.
The females are smaller and less powerful than the males.

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 trees

7. MEDICINE a powerful medicine or drug has a very strong effect on your body

8. TEAM/ARMY ETC a powerful team, army etc is very strong and can easily defeat other teams or armies:
a powerful fighting force

9. QUALITY very strong, bright, loud etc:
a powerful singing voice
the powerful headlights
—powerfully adverb:
Christie is very powerfully built.
⇒ all-powerful

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

powerful
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 She had a voice powerful enough not to need a microphone.
potentially | economically, politically a politically powerful figure
locally locally powerful landowners

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

powerful a powerful person, organization, group etc is able to control and influence events and other people’s actions:
the world’s most powerful nation
Parliament had become more powerful than the King.
a powerful political family
influential having a lot of power to influence what happens, because people pay attention to what you say:
a highly influential fashion designer
He’s one of the most influential figures in international politics.
strong powerful – used about people or groups in politics who have a lot of supporters:
The 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 etc:
She was the dominant force in women’s tennis for many years.
The company has a dominant position in the market.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

strong having a lot of physical strength:
It took four strong men to lift the piano.
You open it – you’re stronger than I am.
powerful very strong – used about someone’s body, arms, muscles etc:
his big powerful shoulders
He was a tall man with a powerful physique.
muscular having big muscles and looking strong:
She liked men who were big and muscular.
He had a firm muscular body.
well-built a well-built man is strong and tall and has a big body:
Police say the man they are looking for is 36 years old, 6 feet tall, and well-built.
hunky informal strong and attractive:
She married hunky Hollywood star Brad Pitt.
He looks hunky, but he’s not really my type.
tough strong – used especially about something that can be used a lot without damaging it or making it weaker:
a pair of tough leather boots
Kitchen floors need to be tough enough to withstand heavy use.
heavy-duty [only before noun] extremely strong – used about materials, tools, machines etc that are made especially to be used a lot without being easily damaged:
heavy-duty rubber gloves
a heavy-duty carpet for the hallway
sturdy strong and often thick, and not likely to fall over or get broken:
a fence made with sturdy wooden posts
The furniture is simple but sturdy.
unbreakable extremely strong and impossible to break:
Babies need to have unbreakable dishes and cups.
indestructible impossible to break, damage, or destroy, and lasting forever:
Gold is virtually indestructible.
The pyramids were built as indestructible tombs for the Pharaohs.
hard-wearing British English, long-wearing American English used about materials and products that will remain in good condition for a long time even when they are used a lot:
Ceramic tiles are easy to keep clean and hard-wearing.
a hard-wearing fabric
durable especially written used about materials and products that will remain in good condition for a long time – often used on product labels:
The jacket has a durable nylon lining.
Varnish is more durable than paint.
robust especially written strongly made – used especially about the structure of something, for example a vehicle or machine:
a mountain bike with a robust frame
The hardware for the computer must be robust and inexpensive.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲