Word
mighty
US/ˈmaɪti/
UK/mˈaɪti/
Definitions
01powerful or strong
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. having great power, strength, or importance.
adj. possessing great physical strength, political power, or social influence.
“The mighty river carved a deep canyon through the rock over millions of years.”
“The empire fell not to a mighty army, but to a series of internal economic failures and administrative corruption.”
02very large
B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal
adj. very big or impressive in size.
adj. notable for its great size, volume, or physical scale.
“He took a mighty swing at the ball and hit it over the fence.”
“With one mighty heave, the workers managed to shift the fallen timber away from the blocked entrance.”
03very
C1 · Advanced Informal · Dialect
adv. you use this to mean 'very' when you want to sound casual or old-fashioned.
adv. functions as an intensifier meaning 'to a high degree'; typically restricted to colloquial or regional speech patterns.
“That was a mighty fine meal you cooked for us tonight.”
“The locals were mighty suspicious of any outsiders who arrived in town without a clear explanation for their visit.”
Usage
Always placed immediately before the adjective it modifies.
Teaching tip
This adverbial use is common in American Southern dialects and older literature; it may sound out of place in modern professional writing.
Real-World Examples
“The drug lenacapavir is a mighty weapon against HIV.” “Another mighty, all-purpose midfielder, Johnny Giles, went one better than Souness.” Etymology
From Middle English mighty, mightie, mighti, myghty, miȝty, maȝty, from Old English mihtiġ, mehtiġ, meahtiġ, mæhtiġ (“mighty”), from Proto-West Germanic mahtīg (“mighty”), from Proto-Germanic mahtīgaz (“mighty”), equivalent to might + -y. Cognate with Scots michty, mychty, Saterland Frisian machtich, Dutch machtig, German Low German machtig, German mächtig, Swedish mäktig.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Related words
Idioms
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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