Potent means really strong, but not like a body builder. Use potent instead to describe things like intense smells, powerful magic potions, and very influential people.
From the Latin potentum, meaning “powerful,” potent is just that: having tremendous strength or influence in either a moral or physical sense. A potent question gets to the heart of the matter and sparks serious discussion. Really stiff drinks can be potent, as can your breath after a garlicky meal. And as the composer Igor Stravinsky once asked, "What force is more potent than love?"
