---
title: potency — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «potency» in the school dictionary: How strong or powerful something is, especially a medicine, drug, poison or chemical. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# potency

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** something, potency, you, medicines, venom, speech · **What happens:** be, mean, need, lose, have, show · **To what, where:** small dose, potency, great potency · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«potency» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [potency in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/potency.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How strong or powerful something is, especially a medicine, drug, poison or chemical.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:m1:1
# text = How strong or powerful something is, especially a medicine, drug, poison or chemical.
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	powerful	powerful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	medicine	medicine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	drug	drug	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	poison	poison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	chemical	chemical	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | something |  |  |  |  | strong *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | something *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Power or influence: the potency of an idea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:m2:1
# text = Power or influence: the potency of an idea.
1	Power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	influence	influence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The potency of the medicine means you only need a small dose.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:x1:1
# text = The potency of the medicine means you only need a small dose.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	medicine	medicine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	only	only	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	need	need	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	dose	dose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | the potency of the medicine |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **need** | present | you | a small dose |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot dose=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some medicines lose their potency after their expiry date.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:x2:1
# text = Some medicines lose their potency after their expiry date.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	medicines	medicine	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	lose	lose	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	after	after	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	expiry	expiry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	date	date	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | present | some medicines | medicines's potency |  |  | after medicines's expiry date |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent potency=Eventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snake's venom has great potency.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:x3:1
# text = The snake's venom has great potency.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	venom	venom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the snake's venom | great potency |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent potency=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The speech showed the potency of words.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:x4:1
# text = The speech showed the potency of words.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | the speech | the potency of words |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent potency=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scientists tested the potency of the new vaccine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:x5:1
# text = Scientists tested the potency of the new vaccine.
1	Scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tested	test	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	vaccine	vaccine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **test** | past | Scientists | the potency of the new vaccine |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent potency=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Strong sunlight can reduce the potency of vitamins.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potency:x6:1
# text = Strong sunlight can reduce the potency of vitamins.
1	Strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	sunlight	sunlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	reduce	reduce	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	potency	potency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	vitamins	vitamin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reduce** | can | Strong sunlight | the potency of vitamins |  |  |  |  | vn limit-76 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer potency=Patient |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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