Word.ws English Dictionary

potent

Syllables: po·tent/ˈpəʊt(ə)nt//ˈpoʊt(ə)nt/

potent adjective: powerful; possessing power; effective.

potent: powerful; possessing power; effective
Image: Madboy74, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

potent (comparative more potent, superlative most potent)

  1. Powerful; possessing power; effective.
    • harsh and potent injuries1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
    • Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence.1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy)...
    1. Possessing authority or influence; persuasive, convincing.
      • a potent argument
      • Moses once more his potent rod extends.1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
    2. Possessing strong physical or chemical properties.
      • a potent drink; a potent solvent; a potent medicine
      • Richardson took over, and Mitchell proceeded to the refreshment room in his turn, but when he came back some ten minutes later, it was evident that he had been indulging in something more potent than coffee, and he was in a very muddled state.1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, page 53
  2. Able to procreate.
  3. Able to differentiate.

Noun

potent (plural potents)

  1. (obsolete) A prince; a potentate.
    • Cry, havock , kings! back to the stained field, You equal potentsc. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  2. (obsolete) A staff or crutch.
  3. A heraldic fur formed by a regular tessellation of blue and white T shapes.

potent meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

potent in Hindi

potent, capable
शक्तिमान śaktimān
potent
शक्तिशाली śaktiśālī

potent in Tamil

ஆற்றல்மிக்க, வலிய

potent in Urdu

قادر, قوی

potent in Bengali

শক্তিশালী, অত্যন্ত কার্যকর
More languagesFewer languages
potent in Malayalam
ശക്തിയുള്ള, സമർത്ഥമായ, ഊറ്റമായ, ശക്തിയേറിയ
potent in Kannada
ಸುಸಂಬದ್ಧವಾದ, ಸಮಂಜಸವಾದ, ಪ್ರಭಾವಪೂರ್ಣವಾದ, ತೀವ್ರವಾದ
potent in Odia
ପରାକ୍ରମଶାଳୀ parākramaśāḷi

Examples of potent in a sentence

  • More infectious diseases like the flu are usually less potent.
  • Sellers like Saf take regular taba and mix it with potent chemicals to enhance its intoxicating effect.
  • The unassuageable anguish of the 12-year-old Harry’s loss gives Moehringer a potent, overarching literary device.

All 40 example sentences with potent

Antonyms of potent

Forms of potent

Adjective
comparativemore potent
superlativemost potent
Noun
pluralpotents

Origin of potent

From Middle English potent, borrowed from Latin potens, potentis (“powerful, strong, potent”), present participle of posse (“to be able”), from potis (“able, powerful, originally a lord, master”).

Words formed from potent

Phrases with potent

Words that rhyme with potent

Questions about potent

What does potent mean?
Potent means powerful; possessing power; effective.
What is potent in Hindi?
Potent in Hindi is शक्तिमान (śaktimān), शक्तिशाली (śaktiśālī). See Potent meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is potent?
Potent can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce potent?
Potent is pronounced /ˈpəʊt(ə)nt/ (UK).

Words near potent in the dictionary

  1. potench
  2. potencies
  3. potency
  4. potender
  5. potenders
  6. potent
  7. potent potable
  8. potent potables
  9. potentacies
  10. potentacy
  11. potentate

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: potent (page history and authors); शक्तिमान (Hindi) (page history and authors); potent (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); potent (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); potent (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); potent (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); potent (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ପରାକ୍ରମଶାଳୀ (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “potent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/potent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.