1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
Synonyms
Examples of impasse in a Sentence
The players are poised to strike after Thursday's games because they believe, with good reason, that if no agreement is reached by the end of the post-season, the owners will declare an impasse …
—
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Recent Examples on the Web
In an update sent to families Dec. 6 CPS quantified the current impasse, estimating the four-year cost of meeting the union’s recent list of narrowed demands at $3.5 billion.
—Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 13 Dec. 2024
Yoon’s party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill.
—Kim Tong-Hyung, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
In recent weeks, the two parties have been locked in an impasse over next year's national budget.
—Vincent Ni, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024
The impasse deepened as Yoon dismissed mounting demands for independent investigations into scandals tied to his wife and high-ranking officials—an act that sparked swift and sharp criticism from his political adversaries.
—Michael D. Carroll, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse 
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.
Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 13 Dec. 2024
Yoon’s party has been locked in an impasse with the liberal opposition over next year’s budget bill.
—Kim Tong-Hyung, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
In recent weeks, the two parties have been locked in an impasse over next year's national budget.
—Vincent Ni, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024
The impasse deepened as Yoon dismissed mounting demands for independent investigations into scandals tied to his wife and high-ranking officials—an act that sparked swift and sharp criticism from his political adversaries.
—Michael D. Carroll, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse
Dictionary Entries Near impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
impasse
noun
im·passe
ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas 
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share