c. 1400, from power (n.) + -ful. Meaning "of great quality or number" is from 1811; colloquial sense of "exceedingly" (adv.) is from 1822. Related: Powerfully. Thornton ("American Glossary") notes powerful as "Much used by common people in the sense of very," along with monstrous and cites curious expressions such as devilish good, monstrous pretty (1799), dreadful polite, cruel pretty, abominable fine (1803), "or when a young lady admires a lap dog for being so vastly small and declares him prodigious handsome" (1799).
双语例句
1. The government wilted in the face of such powerful pressure.
政府面对如此大的压力，失去了信心。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The social cachet of some form of qualification in India is powerful.
在印度，具有某种资格享有巨大的社会威望。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The once-powerful post unions have been cut down to size.
一度很强势的邮政联盟已经威风不再。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Ferries are very powerful and manoeuvrable compared to cargo ships.
与货船相比，渡船马力大而且易操纵。
来自柯林斯例句
5. In some works, flowers take on a powerful emblematic quality.
