impasse

American  

[im-pas, im-pas] / ˈɪm pæs, ɪmˈpæs /

noun

• impasses
  plural

1. a position or situation from which there is no escape; deadlock.

   Synonyms:

   dead end, standoff, standstill, stalemate

2. a road or way that has no outlet; cul-de-sac.

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impasse British  

/ ˈæmpɑːs, ɪmˈpɑːs, æmˈpɑːs, ˈɪmpɑːs /

noun

1. a situation in which progress is blocked; an insurmountable difficulty; stalemate; deadlock

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• impasses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of impasse

1850–55; < French, equivalent to im- im- ² + -passe, stem of passer to pass

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Explanation

When two huge semi trailers met face-to-face on a one-lane mountain road, the drivers jumped out of their cabs and exclaimed, "We're at an impasse! We can't move forward — we can only reverse and go back in the direction from which we came." If you investigate impasse a little more closely, you'll discover passer, the French word for to pass. The im- prefix is a negative, meaning that there's no way any passing is going to occur. It's impossible. An impasse is any situation in which the parties involved can't, or won't, move forward or make any sort of progress. Either they are literally stuck, like two big trucks trying to pass each other on a narrow road, or they are figuratively stuck, as in two politicians who are unable to reach an agreement on a new policy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impasse impasses

But if a gap remains and an impasse ultimately is declared, the supervisors no longer would dictate the final offer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The discussions prompted the union representing over 9,000 of the automaker’s Canadian employees to declare an impasse on talks toward a new labor deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

The International Energy Agency said Friday that the continuing U.S.-Iran diplomatic impasse and renewed attacks in the Gulf and Bab al-Mandeb have pushed the prospect of a normalization in oil flows into next year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

“The continuing impasse in negotiations between the United States and Iran delays the prospect of a normalisation of flows into next year,” it said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

The impasse was broken by the pig, which decided, simply, to leave; choosing for its line of departure a path which passed directly between Bloom’s legs.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

We don’t just use these things as ephemeral amusement — art helps us make sense of our lives at their most critical impasses.

From Salon ● Jan. 6, 2025

It took Spain four elections in as many years before a minority Sanchez government took over in early 2020 because coalition agreements could not be reached, with some impasses lasting as long as six months.

From Reuters ● Jul. 24, 2023

He has appealed to Spaniards to give him enough votes to "end the impasses" in the country's politics.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2023

Partners try to resolve such impasses by digging in and working hard to convince the other of their own position, becoming further polarized.

From New York Times ● May 16, 2023

We seem already to have found the city of rocks, the famous Cité du Diable; so labyrinthine these streets, alleys, and impasses of natural stone, so bewildering the chaos around us.

From The Roof of France by Matilda Betham-Edwards

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Related Words

• deadlock
• dilemma
• gridlock
• predicament
• standoff
• standstill

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