omnipotent

1 of 2

adjective

om·​nip·​o·​tent äm-ˈni-pə-tənt 

1

often capitalized : almighty sense 1

2

: having virtually unlimited authority or influence

an omnipotent ruler

3

obsolete : arrant

omnipotently adverb

omnipotent

2 of 2

noun

1

: one who has unlimited power or authority : one who is omnipotent

2

capitalized : god sense 1

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Knowledge Is Power: Defining Omnipotent

The word omnipotent made its way into English through Anglo-French, but it ultimately comes from a combination of the Latin prefix omni-, meaning "all," and the word potens, meaning "potent." The omni- prefix has also given us similar words such as omniscient (meaning "all-knowing") and omnivorous (describing one that eats both plants and animals). Although omnipotent is most often used in general contexts to mean "having virtually unlimited authority or influence" (as in "an omnipotent ruler"), it was originally applied specifically to the power held by an almighty deity. The word has been used as an English adjective since the 14th century, and since the 16th century it has also been used as a noun referring to one who is omnipotent.

Synonyms

Adjective

• all-powerful
• almighty

Examples of omnipotent in a Sentence

Adjective

Rockefeller mostly left the uncertain task of drilling to thousands of independent producers, who then competed furiously to sell him crude oil at the cheapest possible price. As a result, he was loathed by the drillers, who saw him as an omnipotent deity shadowing their lives. —Ron Chernow, Vanity Fair, May 1998

Whether or not the Big Bang truly implies that the universe was created out of nothing by an omnipotent deity in a wholly gratuitous act of love, it does demonstrate that the universe is, as philosophers say, contingent—that is, it need not have existed. —Jim Holt, Harper's, November 1994

Tad fixes another round and by the time you all troop out of the bathroom you are feeling omnipotent. —Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City, 1984

the nearly universal religious belief that God is omnipotent and omniscient

Noun

He pursued his own thoughts without heeding me. 'Jane! you think me, I daresay, an irreligious dog: but my heart swells with gratitude to the beneficent God of this earth just now.  … I did wrong: I would have sullied my innocent flower—breathed guilt on its purity: the Omnipotent snatched it from me.' —Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

There is something so wonderfully obscene about having a town with hundreds of people living their lives, running into conflict, hoping for better, and your omnipotent self is stuck on which bookcase best fits this living room corner. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2024

In Putin’s world view, however, countries like Germany don’t have their own autonomous, sovereign geopolitical interests—European capitals are effectively vassals to an omnipotent Washington. —Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2024

Though the film is an existential crisis saga about a man’s toxic relationship with his omnipotent mother, Aster crafts a literal depiction of la petite mort. —Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 31 July 2024

Apparently, the omnipotent FBI and CIA failed in their ultimate goal of thwarting Jones. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 17 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin omnipotent-, omnipotens, from omni- + potent-, potens potent

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

omnipotent

adjective

om·​nip·​o·​tent

äm-ˈnip-ət-ənt

: having power or authority without limit : almighty

omnipotently adverb