Power
['paʊə] or ['paʊɚ]
Definition
(noun.) possession of controlling influence; 'the deterrent power of nuclear weapons'; 'the power of his love saved her'; 'his powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade'.
(noun.) one possessing or exercising power or influence or authority; 'the mysterious presence of an evil power'; 'may the force be with you'; 'the forces of evil'.
(noun.) (physics) the rate of doing work; measured in watts (= joules/second).
(verb.) supply the force or power for the functioning of; 'The gasoline powers the engines'.
Checker: Rita--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Same as Poor, the fish.
(n.) Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or performance; capability of producing an effect, whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of great power; the power of capillary attraction; money gives power.
(n.) Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm.
(n.) Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted upon; susceptibility; -- called also passive power; as, great power of endurance.
(n.) The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion; sway; command; government.
(n.) The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual invested with authority; an institution, or government, which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe; hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity.
(n.) A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host.
(n.) A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o/ good things.
(n.) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an engine of twenty horse power.
(n.) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand power, etc.
(n.) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as, the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a weight at the other end.
(n.) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
(n.) The product arising from the multiplication of a number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and a cube is third power, of a number.
(n.) Mental or moral ability to act; one of the faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as, the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing, fearing, hoping, etc.
(n.) The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and usually in the microscope, the number of times it multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it multiplies the apparent surface.
(n.) An authority enabling a person to dispose of an interest vested either in himself or in another person; ownership by appointment.
(n.) Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the business was referred to a committee with power.
Edited by Joanne
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Ableness, efficacy, ability, efficiency, cogency, competency, might, capability, force, energy, strength.[2]. Faculty, talent, endowment, gift.[3]. Authority, authoritativeness, rule, prerogative, sovereignty, sway, control, domination, dominion, influence, command.[4]. Sovereign, potentate, governor, ruler, monarch.[5]. Host, army, troop.[6]. Divinity, angel (good or bad), spirit.[7]. [Low.] Good deal, great quantity.
Edited by Alison
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Faculty, capacity, capability, potentiality, ability, strength, force, might,energy, susceptibility, influence, dominion, sway, command, government, agency,authority, rule, jurisdiction, effectiveness
ANT:Incapacity, incapability, impotence, inability, weakness, imbecility,inertness, insusceptibility, subjection, power_lessness, obedience,subservience, ineffectiveness
Editor: Rena
Definition
n. that in a person or a thing which enables them to act on other persons or things: strength: energy: faculty of the mind: any agency: moving force of anything: right to command: rule: authority: influence: ability: capacity of suffering: a ruler: a divinity: the result of the continued multiplication of a quantity by itself any given number of times: (optics) magnifying strength: (obs.) a great many.—adjs. Pow′ered having power; Pow′erful having great power: mighty: intense: forcible: efficacious.—adv. Pow′erfully.—ns. Pow′erfulness; Pow′er-house a house where mechanical power (esp. electric) is generated.—adj. Pow′erless without power: weak: impotent.—adv. Pow′erlessly.—ns. Pow′erlessness; Pow′er-loom a loom worked by some mechanical power as water steam &c.—Power of attorney (see Attorney); Power of sale a clause in securities and wills empowering property referred to to be sold on certain conditions; Powers or Great Powers (see Great).—Absolute power power subject to no control by law; Civil power power of governing a state; Mechanical powers (see Mechanical).
Edited by Helen
Examples
- The heart was thrilled, the mind astonished, by the power of the preacher: neither were softened. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- She was a warlike power, and inscribed upon her banners many a brilliant fight with Genoese and Turks. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He entered the front room not without blushing; for he, like many, had felt the power of this girl's face and form. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- And he had not the power, or the will, to seek it out and to know it. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- In the hydraulic form of elevator, a motor worked by water is employed to lift the car, although steam power is also employed to raise the water. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- According to that doctrine, motives deprive us not of free-will, nor take away our power of performing or forbearing any action. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- To talk about training a power, mental or physical, in general, apart from the subject matter involved in its exercise, is nonsense. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Darwin's father was remarkable for his powers of observation, while the grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, is well known for his tendency to speculation . Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Nothing in my powers or instinct placed me amongst this brave band. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He had it written up for the newspapers, and advertised public demonstrations of its powers, and arranged that Bell should lecture on it in different cities. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- And without those powers, what mechanical tool or machine has since been developed? William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- All other things, our powers our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- My powers are great, as you shall see, so be easy in your mind, my child. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- As to wishing, my dear Ladislaw, I have the highest opinion of your powers, you know. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- He turned round on their coming in, and his countenance shewed that he strongly partook of the emotion which over-powered Marianne. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- My dear Miss WoodhouseI come quite over-powered. Jane Austen. Emma.
- The pain, which we receive from its tendency to the prejudice of society, is over-powered by a stronger and more immediate sympathy. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- A sense of change, of individual nothingness, of perplexity and disappointment, over-powered Margaret. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- You will excuse my being so much over-powered. Jane Austen. Emma.
Checker: Yale