almighty

American  

[awl-mahy-tee] / ɔlˈmaɪ ti /

adjective

1. having unlimited power; omnipotent, as God.

   Synonyms:

   all-powerful, sovereign, supreme

2. having very great power, influence, etc..

   The almighty press condemned him without trial.

3. Informal. extreme; terrible.

   He's in an almighty fix.

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adverb

1. Informal. extremely.

   It's almighty hot.

noun

1. the Almighty, God.

almighty ¹ British  

/ ɔːlˈmaɪtɪ /

adjective

1. all-powerful; omnipotent

2. informal (intensifier)

   an almighty row

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adverb

1. informal (intensifier)

   an almighty loud bang

Almighty ² British  

/ ɔːlˈmaɪtɪ /

noun

1. another name for God

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Other Word Forms

• almightily adverb
• almightiness noun

Etymology

Origin of almighty

before 900; Middle English; Old English ælmihtig, ealmihtig, equivalent to æl-, eal- all (cognate with Old Norse al- < *ol-o- ) + mihtig ( miht, meaht might ² + -ig -y ¹ ); cf. Alemanni

Explanation

Anything that's almighty is extremely powerful. In fact, being almighty gives something (or someone) an infinite amount of power. Originally, the adjective almighty was capitalized and used to refer to God. It comes from the Old English ælmihtig, "all-powerful." You could also describe something that's almighty as "omnipotent" or even "godlike." Today people often use almighty in a sarcastic or ironic way to talk about things that exert a ridiculously huge amount of control over people: "All he cares about is the almighty dollar."

Example Sentences

Last year, England racked up four predictably one-sided wins, scoring 208 points and conceding just 27, before France gave them an almighty scare in an epic title decider.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

The meeting with the Kazakh Rybakina will be her fourth Melbourne final in a row, and she is expecting an almighty tussle.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

The almighty apparently abandoned the Rams three weeks later when they twice blew leads in a 31-19 loss to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

The first set against 83rd-ranked Halys was an almighty battle stretching over 68 minutes.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

“He talked about you, Lord almighty, right up till the very end. He’d be so pleased to know you had come.”

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson