adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of powerless
Explanation
Powerless means lacking strength, ability, or authority. If nothing you do stops your dog from barking, you're powerless to make her be quiet. A person who doesn't have the power they need to accomplish something can be described as powerless. A flustered substitute teacher is powerless to silence a chattering classroom, and citizens who don't vote are powerless to change their elected representatives in Congress. Power, "strength or vigor," can be traced back to a root meaning "power" or "lord." When you add the suffix -less, or "lacking," you get powerless.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Powerless to fix the problem on their own, they have tried to force the state’s hand.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 23, 2022
Powerless in a world where it is my word against yours, Siminas was left to concentrate on convincing a traumatised little boy not to walk away from the local pitches in Manchester.
From The Guardian • Apr. 12, 2019
Powerless to spring their friends from prison in Hanoi, Uncle Ho stayed in Beijing while General Giap remained in Hungary until the offensive was well under way.
From Time • Sep. 26, 2017
Powerless, starved of information and locked in its deadly white grasp, they become increasingly overwrought and unhinged.
From Economist • Sep. 7, 2017
Like a child's frail top he span around, Powerless and pale; for how should he fight With the double stream in its banded might?
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105, September 2nd, 1893 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
