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Glite Dictionary
potence

potence

9.9
A man's ability to get and keep an erection and have sex
  • noun
  • /ˈpoʊtəns/
  • NSFW
translation icon : potencia
  • After his treatment, he regained his full potence and was able to engage in intimate relationships.

Examples

  • Many factors can influence a man's potence, including stress, diet, and overall health.

  • The doctor explained that his age can sometimes affect his potence and suggested lifestyle changes.

  • You paltry purveyor of potence.

    Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)

  • Hints of a sort of riparian hierarchy of water's spiritual essence include, for example, that downstream water is "not collected in sacred vessels, like upstream water" and that "the particular potence attributed to different varieties of holy water is symbolically associated with the original source of the water."

    Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

potency
vspotence
  • NSFW
5 7.5

A man's ability to have and maintain sex

is an older, less common form for the same meaning

Antonyms

weakness
133 1.4

Lack of physical or mental strength that makes someone less able to act

impotence
  • NSFW
16 7.7

Unable to get or keep an erection

How Potent

virility
9 7.6
potence
  • NSFW
9.9
impotence
  • NSFW
16 7.7

Surface Forms

potence singular
potences plural

Morphology

potence = potent (transparent) = potent + ence

Meaning is the noun-state derived from the adjective 'potent' with a regular nominal suffix '-ence', so learners who know 'potent' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Potence comes from a Latin word for 'power' or 'ability', the same root you see in potent and potential. So Potence means having the power or ability, here the power to have sex.