Strength vs. Power: What's the Difference?
Edited by Huma Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || Published on November 3, 2023
Strength refers to the ability to withstand or exert force, while Power denotes the capacity to act or produce an effect, often quickly.
Key Differences
Strength emphasizes the ability to resist force or pressure, whether it's physical, emotional, or mental, while Power often relates to the capability to do, influence, or directly cause a specific outcome.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
In the realm of physical fitness, strength might refer to the amount of force muscles can produce, whereas power refers to the speed at which that force can be applied.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
From a societal perspective, strength might be seen as resilience or fortitude in challenging situations, while power typically connotes influence, control, or dominance over others or circumstances.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
Both strength and power have metaphoric applications too. Strength could indicate the durability of a belief or the depth of one's character, while power might signify authority or supremacy in various contexts.
Janet White
Nov 03, 2023
While there are contexts where strength and power might be used interchangeably, especially in casual conversation, they have distinct nuances that differentiate their core meanings.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
Ability to resist or exert force
Capacity to act or produce an effect
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Nov 03, 2023
Physical Context
Amount of force muscles can produce
Speed at which force is applied
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Nov 03, 2023
Interchangeability
Sometimes used interchangeably but has nuances
Sometimes overlaps with strength, but emphasizes action/effect
Harlon Moss
Nov 03, 2023
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Strength and Power Definitions
Strength
Emotional or mental qualities necessary in dealing with situations.
Her strength during tough times was commendable.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 25, 2023
Power
The capacity to perform or act effectively.
The power of his speech moved the audience.
Janet White
Oct 25, 2023
Strength
The potency or degree of an element or quality.
The strength of the coffee was too much for him.
Sara Rehman
Oct 25, 2023
Power
The ability or capacity to act or do something effectively
Is it in your power to undo this injustice?.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
A beneficial quality or attribute.
Diversity is a strength in any team.
Sara Rehman
Oct 25, 2023
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Power
Often powers A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude
Her powers of concentration.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The state or quality of being strong; physical power or capacity
The strength needed to lift a box.
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Power
Physical strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted
The power of the waves.
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Strength
The capacity to resist attack; impregnability
The strength of the ship's armor.
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Power
Effectiveness at moving one's emotions or changing how one thinks
A novel of great power.
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Strength
The capacity to resist strain or stress; durability
The strength of the cables.
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Power
The ability or official capacity to exercise control; authority
How long has that party been in power?.
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Strength
The ability to deal with difficult situations or to maintain a moral or intellectual position
Does he have the strength to overcome such a tragedy?.
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Power
The military strength or economic or political influence of a nation or other group
That country projects its power throughout the region.
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Strength
The number of people constituting a normal or ideal organization
The police force has been at half strength since the budget cuts.
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Power
A country, nation, or other political unit having great influence or control over others
The western powers.
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Strength
Capability in terms of numbers or resources
An army of fearsome strength.
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Strength
An attribute or quality of particular worth or utility; an asset
Your easygoing nature is one of your strengths.
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Power
Powers(Christianity) The sixth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.
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Strength
One that is regarded as the embodiment of protective or supportive power; a support or mainstay
Her family has been her strength in difficult times.
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Power
The energy or motive force by which a physical system or machine is operated
Turbines turned by steam power.
A sailing ship driven by wind power.
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Strength
Degree of concentration, distillation, or saturation
What's the strength of that cleaning solution?.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
The capacity of a system or machine to operate
A vehicle that runs under its own power.
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Power
Electrical or mechanical energy, especially as used to assist or replace human energy.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Electricity supplied to a home, building, or community
A storm that cut off power to the whole region.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Intensity of emotion or belief
The strength of feeling among the voters.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
(Physics) The rate at which work is done, expressed as the amount of work per unit time and commonly measured in units such as the watt and horsepower.
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Power
The product of applied potential difference and current in a direct-current circuit.
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Power
The product of the effective values of the voltage and current with the cosine of the phase angle between current and voltage in an alternating-current circuit.
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Strength
Firmness of or a continuous rising tendency in prices, as of a currency or market.
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Strength
The quality or degree of being strong.
It requires great strength to lift heavy objects.
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Power
(Statistics) In a statistical test, the probability of correctly rejecting the null hypothesis when it is false.
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Strength
The intensity of a force or power; potency.
He had the strength of ten men.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
A measure of the magnification of an optical instrument, such as a microscope or telescope.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The strongest part of something; that on which confidence or reliance is based.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Chiefly Upper Southern US A large number or amount. See Note at powerful.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Of or relating to political, social, or economic control
A power struggle.
A power base.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Operated with mechanical or electrical energy in place of bodily exertion
A power tool.
Power car windows.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Of or relating to the generation or transmission of electricity
Power companies.
Power lines.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The quality or state of being strong; ability to do or to bear; capacity for exertion or endurance, whether physical, intellectual, or moral; force; vigor; power; as, strength of body or of the arm; strength of mind, of memory, or of judgment.
All his [Samson's] strength in his hairs were.
Thou must outliveThy youth, thy strength, thy beauty.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
(Informal) Of or relating to influential business or professional practices
A pinstriped suit with a power tie.
Met with high-level executives at a power breakfast.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Power to resist force; solidity or toughness; the quality of bodies by which they endure the application of force without breaking or yielding; - in this sense opposed to frangibility; as, the strength of a bone, of a beam, of a wall, a rope, and the like.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
That quality which tends to secure results; effective power in an institution or enactment; security; validity; legal or moral force; logical conclusiveness; as, the strength of social or legal obligations; the strength of law; the strength of public opinion; strength of evidence; strength of argument.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
One who, or that which, is regarded as embodying or affording force, strength, or firmness; that on which confidence or reliance is based; support; security.
God is our refuge and strength.
What they boded would be a mischief to us, you are providing shall be one of our principal strengths.
Certainly there is not a greater strength against temptation.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Force as measured; amount, numbers, or power of any body, as of an army, a navy, and the like; as, what is the strength of the enemy by land, or by sea?
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Vigor or style; force of expression; nervous diction; - said of literary work.
And praise the easy vigor of a lifeWhere Denham's strength and Waller's sweetness join.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Intensity or degree of the distinguishing and essential element; spirit; virtue; excellence; - said of liquors, solutions, etc.; as, the strength of wine or of acids.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Physical force or strength.
He needed a lot of power to hit the ball out of the stadium.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The property of being physically or mentally strong;
Fatigue sapped his strength
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Electricity or a supply of electricity.
After the pylons collapsed, this town was without power for a few days.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect the capacity to fight a war;
We faced an army of great strength
Politicians have neglected our military posture
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Physical energy or intensity;
He hit with all the force he could muster
It was destroyed by the strength of the gale
A government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
The strength by which a lens or mirror magnifies an optical image.
We need a microscope with higher power.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The power to induce the taking of a course of action or the embracing of a point of view by means of argument or entreaty;
The strength of his argument settled the matter
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Any of the elementary forms or parts of machines: three primary (the lever, inclined plane, and pulley) and three secondary (the wheel-and-axle, wedge, and screw).
The mechanical powers
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or electromagnetic radiation);
He adjusted the intensity of the sound
They measured the station's signal strength
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
A measure of the effectiveness that a force producing a physical effect has over time. If linear, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the displacement of or in an object) ÷ time. If rotational, the quotient of: (force multiplied by the angle of displacement) ÷ time.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Capacity to produce strong physiological or chemical effects;
The toxin's potency
The strength of the drinks
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The condition of financial success;
The strength of the company's stock in recent weeks
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
A product of equal factors (and generalizations of this notion): , read as " to the power of " or the like, is called a power and denotes the product , where appears times in the product; is called the base and the exponent.
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force;
They advertised the durability of their products
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Oct 13, 2023
Strength
The capacity to resist force or pressure.
The pillar's strength supports the building's weight.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 25, 2023
Power
(statistics) The probability that a statistical test will reject the null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is true.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Strength
Physical power and energy.
Lifting heavy weights showcased her immense strength.
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Oct 25, 2023
Power
In Christian angelology, an intermediate level of angels, ranked above archangels, but exact position varies by classification scheme.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
(transitive) To provide power for (a mechanical or electronic device).
This CD player is powered by batteries.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or performance; capability of producing an effect, whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of great power; the power of capillary attraction; money gives power.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted upon; susceptibility; - called also passive power; as, great power of endurance.
Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion; sway; command; government.
Power is no blessing in itself but when it is employed to protect the innocent.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual invested with authority; an institution, or government, which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe; hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity.
And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host.
Never such a power . . . Was levied in the body of a land.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an engine of twenty horse power.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand power, etc.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
The product arising from the multiplication of a number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and a cube is third power, of a number.
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
Mental or moral ability to act; one of the faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as, the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing, fearing, hoping, etc.
The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a received belief.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and usually in the microscope, the number of times it multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it multiplies the apparent surface.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Power
An authority enabling a person to dispose of an interest vested either in himself or in another person; ownership by appointment.
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Power
Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the business was referred to a committee with power.
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Power
Possession of controlling influence;
The deterrent power of nuclear weapons
The power of his love saved her
His powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
Possession of the qualities (especially mental qualities) required to do something or get something done;
Danger heightened his powers of discrimination
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
(of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power;
Being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage
During his first year in office
During his first year in power
The power of the president
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
One possessing or exercising power or influence or authority;
The mysterious presence of an evil power
May the force be with you
The forces of evil
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Power
A mathematical notation indicating the number of times a quantity is multiplied by itself
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Power
Supply the force or power for the functioning of;
The gasoline powers the engines
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Oct 13, 2023
Power
The ability to influence or control.
The president holds significant power over the nation.
Sara Rehman
Oct 25, 2023
Power
A right or authority given or delegated.
The manager has the power to make key decisions.
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Oct 25, 2023
FAQs
How does strength differ from power in fitness?
Strength relates to the force muscles can produce, while power involves the speed of force application.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
Can strength be developed?
Yes, strength, both physical and emotional, can be cultivated over time.
Harlon Moss
Nov 03, 2023
Can someone have power without strength?
Yes, power can refer to influence or authority, which may not necessarily require physical strength.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
How do power dynamics play out in societies?
Power dynamics reflect the distribution of control, influence, and authority among individuals or groups.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
What does "power over others" mean?
It refers to having control, influence, or authority over individuals or groups.
Sara Rehman
Nov 03, 2023
Is power always visible?
No, power can be overt or covert, with some forms of influence being subtle or unseen.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
Is emotional resilience a form of strength?
Yes, emotional resilience is often seen as a type of emotional or mental strength.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
Can strength be a negative trait?
If misused or leading to stubbornness, it might be seen negatively, but strength itself is neutral.
Aimie Carlson
Nov 03, 2023
How is power used in physics?
In physics, power refers to the rate at which work is done or energy is transferred.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
Why do people seek power?
Reasons vary, including desire for control, influence, recognition, or to achieve specific goals.
Janet White
Nov 03, 2023
Can strength be measured?
Yes, especially in a physical context, using tools like dynamometers.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
What's a synonym for strength in terms of character?
Fortitude or resilience can be synonyms in that context.
Aimie Carlson
Nov 03, 2023
Is power always associated with authority?
Often, but not always. Power can also refer to physical force or the rate of doing work.
Aimie Carlson
Nov 03, 2023
Is inner strength the same as resilience?
They're closely related; inner strength supports resilience, helping one cope with challenges.
Aimie Carlson
Nov 03, 2023
Can power be given or taken away?
Yes, power can be delegated, assumed, or revoked in various contexts.
Harlon Moss
Nov 03, 2023
Are power struggles common in organizations?
Yes, power struggles can arise when individuals or groups vie for influence or control.
Harlon Moss
Nov 03, 2023
What's the opposite of strength?
Weakness is often considered the opposite of strength.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
What symbols often represent power?
Crowns, thrones, scepters, and certain animals like lions or eagles.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
Can power exist without hierarchy?
While power often manifests in hierarchical structures, it can exist in other forms like influence or expertise.
Janet White
Nov 03, 2023
Is strength always physical?
No, strength can also refer to emotional, mental, and moral fortitude.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 03, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.
Edited by
Huma SaeedHuma is a renowned researcher acclaimed for her innovative work in Difference Wiki. Her dedication has led to key breakthroughs, establishing her prominence in academia. Her contributions continually inspire and guide her field.
