puissante

Puissante is the feminine form of the French adjective puissant, meaning powerful, strong, or potent. It describes something that possesses substantial strength, influence, or efficacy, and can refer to physical power, technical performance, or figurative force such as a persuasive argument or dynamic leadership.

Origin and grammar: Puissante derives from Latin potens via Old French poissant and later forms. In modern French it agrees with the noun in gender and number: un homme puissant / une femme puissante; des hommes puissants / des femmes puissantes. Adjectives ending in -ant form the feminine with -ante, so the feminine is puissante and the feminine plural is puissantes.

Usage: Puissante is common in descriptive writing and technical language. It typically appears after the noun in neutral descriptive contexts (une machine puissante, une économie puissante), but can also occur before the noun for certain stylistic effects. The word is closely related to puissance (power, strength) and au contraire to puissant (masc. form).

See also: Puissance (power), puissant (masc. form), and related expressions such as avoir une grande puissance or exercer une puissance considérable.