almighty

Alternative forms

• allmighty, all-mighty

Etymology

From Middle English almyghty, almighty, from Old English ælmihtiġ (“all-powerful”), from Proto-Germanic *alamahtīgaz, equivalent to al- +‎ might +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔːlˈmaɪti/
• Rhymes: -aɪti

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adjective

almighty (comparative more almighty, superlative most almighty)

1. (sometimes postpositive) Unlimited in might; omnipotent; all-powerful

   Synonyms: all-powerful, omnipotent

   God almighty

   • The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Genesis 17:1: “I am the Almightie God.”
2. (slang) Great; extreme; terrible.

   I heard an almighty crash and ran into the kitchen to see what had happened.

   • 2012 May 21, Tom Fordyce, “England v West Indies: Hosts cruise home in Lord's Test”, in BBC Sport‎:

     When Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen both went cheaply inside the first hour on the fifth day, a further 134 were needed and there was a genuine sense that an almighty upset might just come off.

3. (by extension) Having very great power, influence, etc.

   The almighty press condemned him without trial.

Adverb

almighty (not comparable)

1. (slang, colloquial) Extremely; thoroughly.
   • 2007, Richard Laymon, Savage, page 203:

     I stepped into the clear, rushing water. It was almighty cold!

Further reading

• “almighty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “almighty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “almighty”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.