potent
Use Potent in a sentence
nt adjective
1.
powerful; mighty: a potent fighting force.
2.
cogent; persuasive: Several potent arguments were in his favor.
3.
producing powerful physical or chemical effects: a potent drug.
4.
having or exercising great power or influence: a potent factor in the economy.
5.
(of a male) capable of sexual intercourse.
00:10
Potent
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
a fur having a pattern of T -shaped forms, placed in alternate directions and having alternating tinctures, one metal and one color, so that all forms of one tincture face the same way and are between, above, and below forms of the other tincture facing the other way.
2.
a T -shaped form used in potent or counterpotent.
adjective
3.
(of a cross) having a crosspiece at the extremity of each arm: a cross potent.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English potente crutch, variant of potence < French crutch, support < Medieval Latin potentia, Latin: power, potency
1325–75; Middle English potente crutch, variant of potence < French crutch, support < Medieval Latin potentia, Latin: power, potency
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To Potent
Collins
World English Dictionary
potent1 (ˈpəʊtənt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | possessing great strength; powerful |
| 2. | (of arguments, etc) persuasive or forceful |
| 3. | influential or authoritative |
| 4. | tending to produce violent physical or chemical effects: a potent poison |
| 5. | (of a male) capable of having sexual intercourse |
| [C15: from Latin potēns able, from posse to be able] | |
| 'potently1 | |
| —adv | |
| 'potentness1 | |
| —n | |
| potent2 (ˈpəʊtənt) | |
| —adj | |
| heraldry (of a cross) having flat bars across the ends of the arms | |
| [C17: from obsolete potent a crutch, from Latin potentia power] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
potent
c.1500, from L. potentem (nom. potens) "powerful," prp. of *potere "be powerful," from potis "powerful, able, capable" (cognate with Skt. patih "master, husband," Gk. posis, Lith. patis "husband"). Meaning "having sexual power" is first recorded 1899. Potency is attested from 1539, from L. potentia "power,"
from potentem "potent."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
potent po·tent (pōt'nt)
adj.
Exerting or capable of exerting strong physiological or chemical effects.
Able to perform sexual intercourse. Used of a male.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Placebo injections are more effective than placebo pills, and neither is as potent as sham surgery.
The letters felt potent somehow, maybe simply because they weren't e-mails.
It's no surprise that a chemical as potent as methylmercury harms wildlife when it enters an ecosystem in high concentration.
The changing conditions may also have favored certain bacteria that produce a potent neurotoxin fatal to the birds.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
