silnyy

Silnyy is the transliteration of the Russian adjective сильный, meaning “strong” or “powerful.” It is used to describe physical strength, intensity, or strength of character, and it can apply to objects, forces, or people. As a normal adjective in Russian, its form changes for gender, number, and case (for example, masculine сильный, feminine сильная, neuter сильное, plural сильные).

Etymology and cognates: The word originates from the Slavic root connected with the concept of power, related to the noun сила (power, strength). Cognates appear in many Slavic languages, such as Ukrainian сильний (sylnyy), Polish silny, Czech silný, and Bulgarian силен (silèn). In transliteration into Latin letters, silnyy is one common rendering, with variants including sil’nyy or silnyj depending on the system used.

Pronunciation and forms: The masculine nominative form is сильный; the feminine is сильная; the neuter is сильное; the plural is сильные. In IPA, the pronunciation is roughly [ˈsʲilnɨj], with the stress on the first syllable. The vowel and consonant cluster reflect the softening of л in this word.

Usage notes: Besides physical power, silnyy can describe intensity or capability, as in “сильный дождь” (heavy rain) or “сильная воля” (strong will). In nuance, closer synonyms include мощный (more forceful or impressive) and крепкий (sturdier or more resilient) depending on context.

See also: сила, мощь, крепкий, сильный (related terms in Russian) and cognate forms in related Slavic languages.