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
There is an impasse over a new contract with the 18-year-old, who is managing an ankle issue that has taken longer than expected to recover from.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
The 2018-2019 shutdown sprang from an impasse over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a U.S.–Mexico border wall, which had been a key campaign promise for Trump in 2016.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Now, Starbucks and the union appear to be at an impasse.
—CBS News, 20 Dec. 2024
Lawmakers have been at an impasse and on Thursday voted down a short-term bill, which was backed by President-elect Donald Trump, to continue to fund the U.S. government.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse 
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Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
The 2018-2019 shutdown sprang from an impasse over Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a U.S.–Mexico border wall, which had been a key campaign promise for Trump in 2016.
—Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Now, Starbucks and the union appear to be at an impasse.
—CBS News, 20 Dec. 2024
Lawmakers have been at an impasse and on Thursday voted down a short-term bill, which was backed by President-elect Donald Trump, to continue to fund the U.S. government.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 20 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 2 Jan. 2025.
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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
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