having a lot of power to control people and events
قدرتمند
The president is more powerful than the prime minister.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
powerful
adjective
1 having a lot of strength or power:
The car has a very powerful engine.
The president is very powerful.
2 having a strong effect:
a powerful drug
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
powerful
pow‧er‧ful S3 W2 /ˈpaʊəfəl $ ˈpaʊr-/ BrE AmE 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
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
powerful
power·ful [ˈpaʊəfl] [ˈpaʊərfl] adjective
1. (of people) being able to control and influence people and events
Syn: influential
• an immensely powerful organization
• one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood
• a rich and powerful man
• Only the intervention of powerful friends obtained her release.
2. having great power or force; very effective
• powerful weapons
• a powerful engine
• a powerful voice
• a powerful telescope
• I traded my computer in for a more powerful model.
3. having a strong effect on your mind or body
• a powerful image/drug/speech
• Television may have a powerful influence on children.
• Fear is a powerful emotion.
• There is a powerful argument for changing the law.
4. (of a person or an animal) physically strong
Syn: muscular
• a powerful body
• a powerful athlete
Derived Word: powerfully
Thesaurus:
powerful [powerful powerfully] adj.
1.
• She is one of the most powerful women in politics.
influential • • important • • great • • dominant • • high-powered • |approving strong •
Opp: weak, Opp: powerless
a/an powerful/influential/important/great/dominant/strong figure/leader/position
a/an powerful/influential/important/dominant individual/group
a/an powerful/important/great/dominant/strong influence
Which word? Powerful people such as politicians use their position to control events. Influential people change other people's opinions or behaviour because people respect and listen to them. Important people influence other people or events because people respect them or because their position means their actions have a great effect. Strong people are confident and have leadership qualities.
2. (especially written, usually approving)
• He was lithe and powerful as an athlete.
strong • • muscular •
Opp: weak
(a) powerful/strong/muscular build/body/arms/legs
powerful/strong muscles/jaws
Example Bank:
• a politically powerful figure
• locally powerful landowners
• He is one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood.
• He was lithe and powerful as an athlete.
• He was the most powerful man in the country after the king.
• It is a country where religious leaders are often more powerful than politicians.
• This extremist movement has become increasingly powerful in recent years.
• When she trots she covers ground like a powerful horse rather than a pony.
• Why are there still so few women in politically powerful positions?
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
powerful / ˈpaʊə.f ə l / / ˈpaʊɚ- / adjective (CONTROL)
B1 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.
powerfully / -i / / ˈpaʊɚ- / adverb
B2
He argued powerfully and persuasively against capital punishment.
She kicked the ball so powerfully that it flew over the hedge.
Klaus is a very powerfully built man (= has a body with large strong muscles) .
powerful / ˈpaʊə.f ə l / / ˈpaʊɚ- / adjective (STRENGTH)
B1 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.
B2 having a very great effect:
a powerful drug
Her speech about cruelty to children was very powerful.
powerfully / -i / / ˈpaʊɚ- / adverb
B2
He argued powerfully and persuasively against capital punishment.
She kicked the ball so powerfully that it flew over the hedge.
Klaus is a very powerfully built man (= has a body with large strong muscles) .
powerful / ˈpaʊə.f ə l / / ˈpaʊɚ- / 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.
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
powerful
[pa͟ʊə(r)fʊl]
♦♦
1) ADJ-GRADED A powerful person or organization is able to control or influence people and events.
→ See also all-powerful
You're a powerful man - people will listen to you.
...Russia and India, two large, powerful countries.
...Hong Kong's powerful business community.
Syn:
influential
Ant:
powerless
2) ADJ-GRADED You say that someone's body is powerful when it is physically strong.
Hans flexed his powerful muscles...
It's such a big powerful dog.
Syn:
strong
Ant:
weak
Derived words:
powerfully ADV-GRADED ADV with v He is described as a strong, powerfully-built man of 60... You can contract your muscles more powerfully by linking up your breathing to the exercise.
3) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n A powerful machine or substance is effective because it is very strong.
The more powerful the car the more difficult it is to handle.
...powerful computer systems...
Alcohol is also a powerful and fast-acting drug.
Derived words:
powerfully ADV ADV adj Crack is a much cheaper, smokable form of cocaine which is powerfully addictive.
4) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n A powerful smell is very strong.
There was a powerful smell of stale beer.
...tiny creamy flowers with a powerful scent.
Syn:
strong
Derived words:
powerfully ADV-GRADED ADV after v The railway station smelt powerfully of cats and drains.
5) ADJ-GRADED A powerful voice is loud and can be heard from a long way away.
At that moment Mrs. Jones's powerful voice interrupted them, announcing a visitor.
Syn:
loud
6) ADJ-GRADED You describe a piece of writing, speech, or work of art as powerful when it has a strong effect on people's feelings or beliefs.
...Bleasdale's powerful 11-part drama about a corrupt city leader.
...one of the world's most powerful and moving operas, Verdi's `Otello'.
...a powerful new style of dance-theatre.
Derived words:
powerfully ADV-GRADED ADV -ed, ADV after v It's a play - painful, funny and powerfully acted.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
powerful
pow·er·ful /ˈpawɚfəl/ adj [more ~; most ~]
1 : having the ability to control or influence people or things
• rich and powerful people
• a powerful ally
• The country is becoming more and more powerful.
2 : having a strong effect on someone or something
• powerful drugs that attack cancer cells
• The cash bonus provides a powerful incentive to workers.
• powerful emotions/images
• The perfume has a powerful smell.
• It's a very powerful movie.
• He gave a powerful [=moving] speech.
• a powerful [=convincing, compelling] argument
3 : having or producing a lot of physical strength or force
• powerful magnets
• a powerful machine/motor/force
• The dog has a powerful body.
• She has a powerful voice.
• The weapons are very powerful.
• The aardvark uses its powerful claws to dig for food.
4 : capable of doing many things in a fast and efficient way
• His new computer is more powerful than the one I have.
the powerful : powerful people
• the weak and the powerful
- pow·er·ful·ly adv
• a powerfully built man [=a man with a body that looks very strong]
• a powerfully written speech/book