potent

Virtue is a potent thing, and our country could use a little extra goodness radiating from its heart.

Astute punchlines can be potent, taking on a life of their own, spreading faster and farther from their origin than nearly any official statement.

And yet, the sport is treated by its fans as if it were biblically potent; each game a sermon, every play a piece of scripture.

In Homer’s “The Odyssey,” for instance, a bridge to the spirit world is reached only after a complex series of sacrifices and offerings — a potent mix of sweet wine and the blood of a lamb.

O’Connor holds the screen with a potent economy of look and gesture.