puissant

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2026 is: puissant \PWISS-unt\ adjective

Puissant is a synonym of [powerful](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/powerful) used to describe something with [puissance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puissance)—that is, strength or power.

// The creatures in her fantasy novel are wielders of puissant magic, able to strike down enemies by harnessing the power of weather phenomena like lightning and tornadoes.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puissant)

Examples:

“The show is light on tech, but the accompanying images … pour through as addendums to Felder's puissant passion of Liszt's Liebesträume or Beethoven's Für Elise and land with great effect.” — David John Chávez, The Mercury News (San Jose, California), 1 Feb. 2026

Did you know?

Puissant has some powerful ties to some more commonplace English words. Although puissant has a considerably fancier feel than [power](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/power) and [potent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potent), all three words share the same Latin ancestor: posse, a verb meaning “to be able.” Potent came from potent-, potens, a form of posse. Power came to us by way of Anglo-French poer, which itself comes from an alteration of posse. From poer also came the Anglo-French adjective pussant, meaning “able” or “powerful,” and English speakers borrowed that to form puissant in the 15th century.