1
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
most mules are impotent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
an impotent ruler who was just a figurehead
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impotent
This unsettling thriller about impotent (emotionally, literally) university professor Ali (Turkish star Ekin Koç), on the path to vengeance after the suspicious death of his mother, scored strong reviews (including my own) and the World Cinema Directing Award out of the Utah festival.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Yet the Jets' offense was again impotent.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
Ethics without efficiency are impotent.
—Karlo Tanjuakio, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
What the Texas Legislature is doing is indefensible – gerrymandering necessarily involves taking portions of the electorate and rendering their voices impotent.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impotent
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Yet the Jets' offense was again impotent.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
Ethics without efficiency are impotent.
—Karlo Tanjuakio, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
What the Texas Legislature is doing is indefensible – gerrymandering necessarily involves taking portions of the electorate and rendering their voices impotent.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impotent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impotent
Adjective
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Scientists have discovered more than 6,000 exoplanets to date, but the majority of them are probably sterile worlds.—
Joanna Thompson,
Space.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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The ones sold on the market were supposed to be sterile, meaning the seeds in the fruits weren’t supposed to germinate and grow.—
Markis Hill,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Weaponized incompetence, or the practice of being so helpless that the labor simply falls on someone else, has long been a feature of domestic life.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
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But Lumet and screenwriter Frank Pierson ease up on the laughs as Sonny’s predicament grows more helpless, allowing the audience to feel his desperation as the drama barrels toward a tragic finale.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Leeds actually had three shots extra in their more recent barren spell, 72 to 69, but the average quality of those shooting opportunities was lower.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
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On the drive out, the streets of New Orleans were barren.—
Daniel Brook,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Carrington said Ny'Leek died of cardiac arrest Thursday, a little more than a year after surviving a hit-and-run that left him paralyzed from the neck down.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026
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The conflict has physically split the energy world into two paralyzed halves.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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An atmospheric river should track across California, even into southern California, by Tuesday, March 31, but is currently forecast to remain too weak to cause flooding issues, the WPC said.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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At the hospital in Dollow, mothers sat shoulder to shoulder on narrow beds holding frail children, some too weak to cry while others let out soft whimpers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impotent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impotent. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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