Dictionary

powerish en · ADJ

Etymology

From power + -ish.

Meanings

1. (rare) Characteristic of power or of those in authority
   • […] to shun the way, and for an easefull life gathers together to make up a hill a mountain, which in the end turns to a Quagmire, which they that comes into, their feet doth flick fast, which is made up of beastical lust, earth, and of powerish ayre. 1659, An Answer to R. Crabs printed Paper to the Quakers:
   • For the child, as he grows, must live his own life and should not be troubled in doing so by the interference of wishful maternal thoughts which in such cases only serve powerish purposes. 1962, Analytical Psychology Club of New York, page 34:
   • Therefore whenever an individual is roused to an emotion of greater intensity than the threat of the circumstances would seem to warrant, concern for a supreme value probably lies behind the "powerish" reaction. 1973, Mary Esther Harding, Psychic Energy, page 234:
   • It is perhaps inevitable and it is certainly a fact that at the moment letters from local authorities all become just as stilted and unhelpful and powerish as those from central government heretofore. 1972, The Child in Care - Volume 12, page 17:

Forms