Definitions
Etymologies
- From Anglo-Norman puissant, pussant, et al., Middle French puissant, poissant, present participle of pooir ("to be able"), ultimately from Latin posse ("be able"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“the purple patches," and unattracted, perhaps demagnetized, by a personality once fascinating and always "puissant," to appreciate the actual worth and magnitude of the poem.”
“Was there nothing that puissant emperor could not do?”
“He was married to a puissant woman of endemic energy.”
“Journeying forth to the big city in search of help, Flik mistakes the members of a broken-down flea circus for puissant warriors, brings them back home and presents them as the colony's saviors.”
The Wall Street Journal: Oy Story: 'Cars 2' Is a Dollar-Driven Edsel
“But the Republican Party does believe in the United States remaining supine and dreaming that it is all-puissant and invincible.”
The Principles of the Republican Party: A Rare Unpublished Jack London Essay
“As well as being a showcase for the fat knight, a contemporary lord of misrule, and a not-so-subtle piece of Tudor propaganda, it must also tell the story of the transformation of the Prince of Wales from prodigal son into the puissant monarch who will shortly fulfil every English ambition and declare waron France.”
“To the New Blood: [aka: puissant snots, kids, wood gatherers … .. fresh meat.]”
“She took a deep breath and held it, raised her head, and gave him a puissant look.”
“Hassop was at ease, relaxed, just a little beglamoured by the idea of intimacy with his puissant chief, just a little intoxicated by the knowledge that his film cannister contained Ben Reich's fate.”
“Here and there might have been discerned a frown at these revelations concerning a most puissant noble of the English Crown, but the overriding reaction was an untrammeled delight in the scandal.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘puissant’.
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
zealot, wistful, welter, wary, whimsical, warranted, vortex, vivisection, volatile, vitiate, viscous, visage and 787 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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phrontistery - p
from phrontistery.info
pabouche, pabulous, pabulum, pacable, pace, pachydermia, pachyglossal, pachymeter, pachynsis, paciferous, pacificate, pactolian and 1766 more...
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words 1
Traduce, Ramify, precipitous, rapture, adumbrate, knell, smolder, vagary, choleric, sibylline, hypocritical, jejune and 135 more...
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SAT Words
But only the ones that I don't already know.
abase, abash, abominate, abstruse, acclivity, accolade, accost, adroit, adulate, adulterate, adumbrate, affray and 241 more...
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AGRI - horse breeding
driving, implement, Trot, speed, exhale, dope, obstacle, tail, plow, coloration, para, weaving and 678 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 503 more...
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Steampunk
Words used quite often in steampunk
ansible, airship, chymical, valve, clockwork, dirigible, thaumaturgy, copper, bronze, difference engine, gear, rivets and 516 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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motley assortment
a motley crew of words i enjoy
sense datum sensa..., sense datum, sens..., concinnity, fulguration, puissant, ensorcell, synaesthesia, barmecide, breatharian, alcazar, faineant, yelept and 19 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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MyList
peter out, fraying, jump on the bandw..., indignation, eclectic, hung up, salutary, hoary, warped, glaring, blue-collar, concomitant and 105 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for puissant.
tbtabby If a boy with gold eyes and a metal staff asks if you are this, say "no." Dec 18, 2012
thesaraheffect I suspect that erudite would have been an appropriate descriptor. Actually, high-falutin would have been one as well. Certainly, it was pretentious. I had a very intimate relationship with my thesaurus. Sep 26, 2009
chained_bear Anything to do with Shakespeare is a perfect place to use it. Or, probably, nineteenth-century hymn lyrics. Sep 25, 2009
madmouth it's not esoteric, just awkward (which I suspect the teacher tried to find a high-falutin' synonym for and failed). I can't see a justified use of puissant in any paper after the 18th century. Sep 25, 2009
rolig @ TheSarahEffect: Sorry to hear about the bad experience with your English teacher, who seems to feel it's her/his job to limit rather than expand your vocabulary. I wonder if your teacher knows what "esoteric" means; I certainly wouldn't use it to describe "puissant" – erudite maybe, but not "esoteric".
I pronounce it more or less as you and Chained_bear do: two syllables: PWISS-ent (that "e" is a schwa). I think the French pronunciation would be: pü-i-SÃ, where the "ü" stands for that narrow, unrounded front-of-the-mouth "u", the "i" is as in machine, and the "ã" is a nasal "ah". But when you're speaking English, I strongly recommend using English pronunciations. Sep 24, 2009
chained_bear Just saw this page, and I too pronounce it "pwee-sant," so ... does alguien mean "British" by "English pronunciation"?
Signed, Too Lazy to Look It Up, OR Change Her Manner of Pronunciation Regardless Sep 24, 2009
thesaraheffect How would you pronounce this in French? The first time I read it, it came to me as: "pwee-san(t)" and it has been difficult to uproot that pronunciation. Sep 24, 2009
thesaraheffect My high school English teacher criticized me for using this word in an essay stating that it was too esoteric. Down with public education. Down with it, I say! Sep 24, 2009
bestiary on the other hand, impuissant sounds very much like its meaning. Jul 21, 2008
alguien I definitely agree. And I am disgusted by the English pronunciation of this word. Pyoo-uh-suhnt? Ew. Mar 26, 2007
seanmeade Means 'powerful' in French, right? Doesn't look or sound powerful to me. It looks like the least powerful word I can think of, except maybe 'pantuflas' (the Spanish word for 'slippers'). It looks more like 'piss-ant' than anything, and we all know those aren't powerful. Mar 26, 2007