impotent

adjective

im·​po·​tent ˈim-pə-tənt 

1

a

: not potent : lacking in power, strength, or vigor : helpless

b

: unable to engage in sexual intercourse because of inability to have and maintain an erection

broadly : sterile

2

obsolete : incapable of self-restraint : ungovernable

impotent noun

impotently adverb

Did you know?

A police department may be impotent to stop the flow of drugs into a neighborhood. A group of countries may be impotent to force another country to change its human-rights policies. The impotence of a prime minister may be shown by her inability to get an important piece of legislation passed. Impotent and impotence may also have a special meaning, when they refer to a man's inability to have sexual intercourse.

Synonyms

• barren
• fruitless
• infertile
• sterile
• unfruitful

Examples of impotent in a Sentence

an impotent ruler who was just a figurehead

Recent Examples on the Web

Sunny wants to clean up, but the prospect of this bot supposedly programmed by her dead husband touching their dead boy’s things is evidently the shock Suzie needed to shake her from impotent despair to useful rage. —Chris Klimek, Vulture, 10 July 2024

Thanks to the constraints imposed by the Zeitgeist, the Fed was omnipotent in principle but impotent in practice. —Sebastian Mallaby, Foreign Affairs, 30 June 2021

That’s what California gets for having a Republican Party almost fully impotent at the state level. —Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024

Everything getting in the way of Cesar’s big plans boils down to the ills of society: stagnant, corrupt forces in positions of power and the careless whims of the rich who benefit from these long-standing, impotent leaders. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin impotent-, impotens, from in- + potent-, potens potent

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

impotent

adjective

im·​po·​tent ˈim-pət-ənt 

1

: lacking in power or strength

2

: incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse

also : sterile sense 1

—usually used of males

impotently adverb

Medical Definition

impotent

adjective

im·​po·​tent ˈim-pət-ənt 

1

: not potent

an impotent vaccine

2

: unable to engage in sexual intercourse because of inability to have and maintain an erection

broadly : sterile