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
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Recent Examples of impuissant
The failsafe option of fake news Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the impuissant opposition, settled down in a comfortable chair, and readied himself for his regular, televised roasting.
—
Isobel Thompson, The Hive, 5 Apr. 2017
The failsafe option of fake news
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the impuissant opposition, settled down in a comfortable chair, and readied himself for his regular, televised roasting.
—Isobel Thompson, The Hive, 5 Apr. 2017
Isobel Thompson, The Hive, 5 Apr. 2017
The failsafe option of fake news
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the impuissant opposition, settled down in a comfortable chair, and readied himself for his regular, televised roasting.
—Isobel Thompson, The Hive, 5 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impuissant
Adjective
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In Texarkana, the year before, men and boys amused themselves by cutting off strips of flesh and thrusting knives into their helpless victim.—
Liz Tracey,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Feb. 2025
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Amick stars alongside James Spader as a beguiling beauty whom Spader is helpless before.—
Jordan Crucchiola,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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He was hospitalized after getting a 5-centimeter chicken bone stuck in his throat, which according to court records left him with a partially paralyzed diaphragm along with lung and heart damage.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
20 Feb. 2025
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In mid-August 2024, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported the first case of polio in 25 years in a 10-month-old child who had not been vaccinated and became paralyzed, according to the WHO.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Salesforce shares fell in extended trading Wednesday on mixed quarterly results and weak guidance.—
Kevin Stankiewicz,
CNBC,
27 Feb. 2025
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There aren’t enough affordable ones and the charging infrastructure is weak.—
Neil Winton,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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How much longer will the Navy be left high and dry?—
Jennifer Zhan,
Vulture,
22 Feb. 2025
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But unions pushed back, warning employees that there was no precedent for such a move and that people who accepted it could be left high and dry.—
Cheyenne Haslett,
ABC News,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Republicans stand in solidarity, voting for incompetent Cabinet picks, while Democrats are barred from entering the U.S. Agency for International Development building, which Musk shut down.—
Christine Ledbetter,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2025
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The difference in expertise is often shocking, which is one reason so many appeals cite incompetent representation.—
Lawrence Wright,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impuissant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impuissant. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
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