potent
po·tent/ˈpoʊt(ə)nt/adjective, noun
potent is spelled P-O-T-E-N-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (po·tent). It appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, potent means “Powerful; possessing power; effective” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in potent?
| Letters | 6: P-O-T-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: po·tent |
| In writing | 5.5 times per million words; the 10,519th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is potent?
Potent appears 5.5 times per million words in written English, the 10,519th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce potent?
- UK /ˈpəʊt(ə)nt/
- US /ˈpoʊt(ə)nt/
- US [ˈpʰoʊ̯ʔn̩t]
Potent has 2 syllables, split po·tent in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-potent.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Aadenboy-potent_(broad).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Aadenboy-potent_(narrow).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of potent
- more potent comparative
- most potent superlative
- potents plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does potent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Powerful; possessing power; effective.
- 2
Possessing authority or influence; persuasive, convincing.
a potent argument
- 3
Possessing strong physical or chemical properties.
a potent drink; a potent solvent; a potent medicine
- 4
Able to procreate.
- 5
Able to differentiate.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA prince; a potentate.
- 2
obsoleteA staff or crutch.
- 3
A heraldic fur formed by a regular tessellation of blue and white T shapes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Potent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense powerfully effective:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | puissant |
| Portuguese | potente |
| Spanish | potente, viripotente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does potent come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).