Power Meaning
/ˈpaʊ̯ə̯/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe ability to do or undergo something.
nounThe ability to coerce, influence, or control.
Sentence Examples
Don't underestimate my power.
The guild leader relegated Vince to a lesser officer because he was abusing his power.
He has the power to make things very unpleasant for us.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The new engine produces enough ____ to run the entire factory reliably.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The storm knocked out the electrical ____ to thousands of homes across the region overnight.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pótis Proto-Italic *potis Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt Proto-Italic *som Proto-Italic *possom Latin posseder. Vulgar Latin potēre Old French pooir Anglo-Norman poerbor. Middle English power English power From Middle English power, poer, from Old French poeir, from Vulgar Latin potēre, from Latin posse, whence English potent. Compare French pouvoir. Displaced the native Old English anweald.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"On June 8, 1872, the London & North Western Railway obtained powers to quadruple its main line, and a new tunnel was bored for the up and down slow lines."
— 1950 September, “Network News: Watford Tunnel, L.M.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 641:
"If it is spirits who have power to suffer, it seems they would also have active powers to think and will."
— 2018, Marilyn McCord Adams, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God, page 74:
"The proportion of female colleagues in the Hsinchu County Government and its affiliated units has reached 61%. “Women Power” is the power behind over half of the services provided by the county government."
— 2022 March 8, “Magistrate Yang Wen-ke Sends Female Staff in Hsinchu County Government Roses for Their Contributions”, in HsinChu County Government, archived from the original on 19 Jul 2022:
"An incident which happened about this time will set the characters of these two lads more fairly before the discerning reader than is in the power of the longest dissertation."
— 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book II:
"Thwackum, on the contrary, maintained that the human mind, since the fall, was nothing but a sink of iniquity, till purified and redeemed by grace.[…]The favourite phrase of the former, was the natural beauty of virtue; that of the latter, was the divine power of grace."
— 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book III:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The new engine produces enough ____ to run the entire factory reliably.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The storm knocked out the electrical ____ to thousands of homes across the region overnight.