---
title: potent — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «potent» in the school dictionary: Potent means very strong and powerful in its effect: a potent medicine, poison or drink works strongly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# potent

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Potent, potent medicine, argument, people, snake venom, tiny drop · **What happens:** mean, work, effect, describe, have, mind · **To what, where:** idea, strong effect, minds, dose, label, potent potion · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«potent» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [potent in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/potent.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Potent means very strong and powerful in its effect: a potent medicine, poison or drink works strongly.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:m1:1
# text = Potent means very strong and powerful in its effect: a potent medicine, poison or drink works strongly.
1	Potent	potent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	powerful	powerful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	effect	effect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	medicine	medicine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	poison	poison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	drink	drink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	_
18	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
19	strongly	strongly	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Potent |  |  |  |  | strong *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **work** | present | a potent medicine and poison or drink |  |  |  |  | strongly *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **effect** |  | Potent |  |  |  |  |  | nom effect «phenomenon transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Potent can describe an idea, symbol or argument that has a strong effect on people's minds.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:m2:1
# text = Potent can describe an idea, symbol or argument that has a strong effect on people's minds.
1	Potent	potent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	describe	describe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	symbol	symbol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	argument	argument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	effect	effect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
15	on	on	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	's	's	PART	POS	_	16	case	_	_
18	minds	mind	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | can | Potent | a idea or argument |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent idea=Theme |
| 2 | **have** | present | argument | a strong effect |  | people's minds |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent effect=Patient |
| 3 | **mind** |  | people |  |  |  |  |  | nom mind «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some snake venom is so potent that a tiny drop can be deadly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x1:1
# text = Some snake venom is so potent that a tiny drop can be deadly.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
2	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	venom	venom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	drop	drop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
11	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	cop	_	_
13	deadly	deadly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | some snake venom |  |  |  |  | potent *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | can | a tiny drop |  |  |  |  | deadly *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This medicine is potent, so only take the dose on the label.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x2:1
# text = This medicine is potent, so only take the dose on the label.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	2	det	_	_
2	medicine	medicine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dose	dose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	label	label	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | this medicine |  |  |  |  | potent *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **take** | infinitive |  | the dose |  | the label |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent dose=Theme on label=Destination |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The witch brewed a potent potion.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x3:1
# text = The witch brewed a potent potion.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	brewed	brew	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	potion	potion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **brew** | past | the witch | a potent potion |  |  |  |  | vn preparing-26.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent potion=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The poppy is a potent symbol of remembrance.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x4:1
# text = The poppy is a potent symbol of remembrance.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	poppy	poppy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	symbol	symbol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	remembrance	remembrance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the poppy | a potent symbol |  |  |  | of remembrance | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Garlic has a potent smell.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x5:1
# text = Garlic has a potent smell.
1	Garlic	garlic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Garlic | a potent smell |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent smell=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her speech was a potent reminder to be kind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x6:1
# text = Her speech was a potent reminder to be kind.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	reminder	reminder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
9	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Her speech | a potent reminder |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | Her speech *not said here* |  |  |  |  | kind *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **speak** |  | Her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom speech «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Strong coffee is too potent for children.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x7:1
# text = Strong coffee is too potent for children.
1	Strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	coffee	coffee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Strong coffee |  |  |  |  | for children; potent *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But, delightfully as the wine looked, it was mingled with the most potent enchantments that Circe knew how to concoct.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:potent:x8:1
# text = But, delightfully as the wine looked, it was mingled with the most potent enchantments that Circe knew how to concoct.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
3	delightfully	delightfully	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	wine	wine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	mingled	mingle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	conj	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
14	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	15	advmod	_	_
15	potent	potent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	enchantments	enchantment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	_
17	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
18	Circe	Circe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
19	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl	_	_
20	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	22	advmod	_	_
21	to	to	PART	TO	_	22	mark	_	_
22	concoct	concoct	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | past | the wine |  |  |  |  | delightfully *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **mingle** | past · passive |  | wine |  |  |  | with the potent enchantments | vn mix-22.1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: subject=Patient with enchantment=Co-Patient |
| 3 | **know** | past | Circe | the potent enchantments *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **concoct** | to-infinitive | Circe *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

<!-- div src -->

**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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