impuissant

adjective

(ˌ)im-ˈpwi-sᵊnt How to pronounce impuissant (audio)
Definition of impuissantnext
as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose claims that such restrictions on military interventions on foreign soil would render the nation an impuissant giant on the world stage

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for impuissant
  1. helpless
  2. paralyzed
  3. weak
  4. high and dry
  5. incompetent
Adjective
  • If a guy who was seven for 66 in the last two postseasons and was so helpless last year that he was benched for the last three games of the World Series … if that guy can drive in the winning run from the bottom of the order?
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The law distinguishes that from being physically helpless or incapacitated by drugs administered without consent.
    — Hallie Golden, Chicago Tribune, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of helpless
Adjective
  • The injuries left her paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from a second-story window.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But Congress appears paralyzed and its leaders unfamiliar with what they’re supposed to be regulating.
    — Matt Post, Baltimore Sun, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of paralyzed
Adjective
  • Most franchise advertising does not fail because the brand is weak or the market is dry.
    — Jonathan Durante, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Historically, midterm years see weaker returns, but better times await the following year , especially if there is gridlock from a divided Congress.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of weak
Adjective
  • My first boyfriend left me high and dry just before it, and another guy took me.
    — Jeremy Rellosa, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The unofficial end of summer left some boaters in Minnesota high and dry over Labor Day weekend.
    — Nick Lunemann, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of high and dry
Adjective
  • Keeping track of scheming or incompetent subordinates has always been the autocrat’s chief burden.
    — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026
  • So incompetent were campus security officers, that even though Jane Doe told them she was raped, in a six-page summary sent to the local district attorney the rape was not even mentioned.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of incompetent
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

impuissance
impuissant
impulse
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Cite this Entry

“Impuissant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impuissant. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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