puissant
/ˈpjuəsənt/obsolete
puissant is spelled P-U-I-S-S-A-N-T: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, puissant means “Powerful, mighty, having authority” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in puissant?
| Letters | 8: P-U-I-S-S-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st 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 puissant?
Puissant appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st 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 puissant?
- UK /ˈpwɪs(ə)nt/
- UK /ˈpjuːɪs(ə)nt/
- US /ˈpjuəsənt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-puissant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of puissant
- more puissant comparative
- most puissant superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does puissant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaicPowerful, mighty, having authority.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Puissant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense powerful, mighty:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | puissant |
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 puissant come from?
From Middle English puissaunt, from Middle French puissant, poissant, Anglo-Norman puissant, Old French pussant, et al., present participle of pooir (“to be able”), ultimately from Latin posse (“be able”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).