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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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Healthy river:To keep the Colorado River's heart beating, people step in to do what nature once did
Reaching for a consensus by year's end
The states appear headed toward next month’s annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference at an impasse.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2024
Most likely the union impasse will be settled shortly, simply because there is little alternative for either side.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
The union and company remain at an impasse, and airplane production at factories in the Seattle area and other locations has been idled, depriving Boeing of cash.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
Paramount Global and Nielsen have hit a contract impasse as CBS News gets set to host the vice presidential debate Tuesday night.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024
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Word History
Etymology
French, from in- + passer to pass
First Known Use
1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Dictionary Entries Near impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on impasse
Nglish: Translation of impasse for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of impasse for Arabic Speakers
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