Meaning of powerful in English

powerful

adjective

/ˈpaʊ.ɚ.fəl/ uk

/ˈpaʊə.fəl/

powerful adjective (CONTROL)

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having a lot of power to control people and events:

The president is more powerful than the prime minister.

She's the most powerful person in the organization.

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The president is so powerful that he is able to dictate to the government.
He was a powerful force in British politics during the war years.
I get the impression that Sheila is the powerful one in that relationship, not her husband!
Today's teachers are not the powerful authority figures they once were.
Are multinational companies now more powerful than governments?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Physically strong and powerful

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powerful adjective (STRENGTH)

having a lot of strength or force:

She's an extremely powerful runner.

The picture quality is bad because the TV signal isn't powerful enough.

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having a lot of physical or mental strength

strongHe is a big, strong man.
strongTwo thirds of voters see him as a strong leader.
powerfulHe is the most powerful fighter I have seen in a boxing ring.
muscularHe is tall with a muscular body.
muscledShe has worked hard to achieve that muscled body.

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having a very great effect:

a powerful drug

Her speech about cruelty to children was very powerful.

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felt or experienced with a lot of force

strongI felt a strong urge to hug him.
powerfulAnger is one of the most powerful human emotions.
intenseShe learned that even intense emotional pain passes.
fierceThe people have a fierce pride in their country.
deepHe suffered from a deep feeling of inadequacy.
deep-seatedHe has a deep-seated loathing of snobbery.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Physically strong and powerful

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Having a powerful effect

powerful adjective (IMAGE SIZE)

having the power to increase the size of an image of something that is very small or far away many times:

You'd need an extremely powerful microscope to see something so small.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Physics: optics, microscopy & lasers

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Related word

powerfully

(Definition of powerful from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

powerful | Intermediate English

powerful

adjective

/ˈpɑʊ·ər·fəl/

powerful adjective (STRONG)

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strong:

The picture quality is bad because the TV signal isn’t powerful enough.

Things that are powerful have a strong effect:

a powerful drug

powerful adjective (CONTROLLING)

having a lot of power:

He’s in a powerful position as an adviser of the president.

(Definition of powerful from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of powerful

powerful

And withdrawing that is a very powerful signal to the dog.

From NPR

He could be strong, powerful or tough, but they do not see that.

From ABC News

Young people have the powerful ability to change the world today.

From Huffington Post

She got close to lots of powerful people.

From Business Insider

It's a chance to get in during five days, and it was so powerful.

From NPR

We are to be the most powerful country in the world, but we can't provide basic health care?

From Washington Post

These are powerful ideas underserved in the professional world by all but the most enlightened and successful.

From Fast Company

Usually we tell people to think bigger, but in this case maybe thinking smaller could be very powerful.

From Huffington Post

I think the attraction was so powerful, the risk just didn't seem real.

From Huffington Post

The reason the tech industry has grown so powerful over the last decade is because it is seeping into every area of our lives.

From TechCrunch

The more connections to drinkers--or nondrinkers--a person had, the more powerful the effect was.

From CNN

That's how powerful and strong the fear was for me.

From USA TODAY

Some days you will be more powerful than others.

From Huffington Post

Future efforts are in the works on ever larger/more powerful supercomputers.

From Ars Technica

But basically it still retains the powerful features that we put to use before we had writing.

From The Atlantic

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

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