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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Powerful: Meaning, Usage, and Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：influential (powerful)

powerful 🔊

/ˈpaʊərfəl/

adj.

having a lot of strength or force; able to make a big impact or change.

Powerful businessperson speaking confidently in meeting room

influential 🔊

➕

/ˌɪnfluˈenʃəl/

adj.

Having great strength, force, or ability to make a significant impact or change.

📁 Category：Social Economy 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old French 'povoir' and Latin 'potere' (to be able, to have power).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of a 'power' plant generating electricity: it's a 'powerful' source of energy.

📖 Example

Social media gives ordinary people a powerful voice to share their opinions with the world. 🔊 Social media provides ordinary individuals with a strong platform to express their views globally.

🔗 Collocations

powerful leader – a leader with great authority and influence

powerful weapon – a weapon capable of causing significant damage or effect

powerful argument – a convincing and compelling argument

🔄 Synonyms

mighty (adj.) – Having great strength or power, often used in a grand or epic context.

potent (adj.) – Having great power, influence, or effect, especially in a concentrated way.

strong (adj.) – Having the power to move heavy weights or perform other physically demanding tasks; also used figuratively.

🚫 Antonyms

weak (adj.) – Lacking the power to perform physically demanding tasks or lacking influence.

feeble (adj.) – Very weak, lacking strength or effectiveness.

powerless (adj.) – Without power or authority; unable to act or influence.

🌱 Derivatives

powerfully (adv.) – In a powerful manner; with great force or influence.

powerfulness (n.) – The quality or state of being powerful.

power (n.) – The ability to do something or act in a particular way; strength or force.

📖 Cultural Story

Derived from Latin 'posse' (to be able), 'powerful' entered English via Old French 'povoir'. It is frequently used in politics, business, and technology to describe entities with significant influence or control.

Meaning 2：intense (powerful)

powerful 🔊

/ˈpaʊərfəl/

adj.

describing a feeling or sensation that is very intense and hard to ignore.

Powerful sensation of enjoying hot coffee aroma

intense 🔊

➕

/ɪnˈtens/

adj.

Describing a feeling, sensation, or emotion that is very strong and hard to ignore.

📁 Category：Physical & Mental Health 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The smell of rain on dry earth brings back a powerful feeling of nostalgia for my childhood summers. 🔊 The scent of rain on parched soil evokes a strong nostalgia for my summer days as a child.

🔗 Collocations

powerful emotion – a very strong feeling such as love, anger, or grief

powerful sensation – an intense physical or emotional experience

powerful memory – a vivid and deeply impactful recollection

🔄 Synonyms

intense (adj.) – Of extreme force, degree, or strength; very strong.

overwhelming (adj.) – Very great in amount or intensity; so strong as to be impossible to resist or ignore.

profound (adj.) – Very great or intense; having deep meaning or significance.

🚫 Antonyms

mild (adj.) – Not strong or extreme; gentle.

feeble (adj.) – Lacking strength or intensity; weak.

faint (adj.) – Lacking brightness, clarity, or strength; barely perceptible.

🌱 Derivatives

powerfully (adv.) – In a powerful manner; with great intensity.

powerfulness (n.) – The quality of being intensely strong.

power (n.) – Strength or force exerted; capacity to produce an effect.