mighty

Mighty is an English adjective describing something with great power, strength, size, or influence. It can denote physical power as in a mighty tiger, scale as in a mighty mountain, or impact as in a mighty blow. In idiomatic use, mighty often serves as an informal intensifier meaning very or extremely, as in mighty cold, mighty fine, or mighty strange. This intensifier sense is common in many dialects, particularly in American English, and is frequently found in informal speech, literature, and historical texts. In formal writing, writers typically substitute very or extremely for this usage.

Etymology and history: Mighty derives from Old English mægtig, from mægen “power, strength,” related to other Germanic terms for strength. The word has long carried notions of potency, grandeur, and magnitude, and its use to describe large-scale entities such as a “mighty fortress” or a “mighty river” remains common in literary and biblical styles.

Usage notes: The word can modify nouns to convey large size or influence, or function as a predicative adjective (“The army was mighty.”). Some contexts treat mighty as archaic or humorous if used as an intensifier; careful taste matters in formal prose. Its cognates appear across Germanic languages and in modern names and phrases, contributing to its continued presence in historical, religious, and literary contexts.

See also: might; mightiness; power; strength; grandeur.