helpless

[ help-lis ]

/ ˈhɛlp lɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR helpless ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

unable to help oneself; weak or dependent: a helpless invalid.

deprived of strength or power; powerless; incapacitated: They were helpless with laughter.

affording no help.

Nearby words

helper virus, helpful, helping, helping hand, helping verb, helpless, helpline, helpmann, helpmate, helpmeet, helprin

Origin of helpless

Middle English word dating back to 1125–75; see origin at help, -less

Related forms

help·less·ly, adverbhelp·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for helpless

“It's insane to see what the extreme version of that type of helpless anger combined with mental illness can create,” Cook wrote.
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website|Brandy Zadrozny|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“No, the church has to be on the side of the most disadvantaged, of the poorest, of the helpless,” the padre tells us.
Mexico’s Holy Warrior Against the Cartels|Jason McGahan|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He saves the helpless from burning buildings and puppies from untimely deaths.
The Ugly Truth About Cory Booker, New Jersey’s Golden Boy|Olivia Nuzzi|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the stage when you are a helpless baby, Mom is, literally, everything.
Postpartum Stigma: Why My Patient Committed Suicide|Jean Kim|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Helpless women and children are bombed in a U.N. shelter, and the overall toll passes 1,000.
Hope When the World’s Gone Off the Rails|Gene Robinson|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the birds are not as helpless as the flowers, and are able to make their own nests.
Confidences|Edith B. Lowry
Oh, what a shame to take him through the streets in such a helpless condition!
Fireside Stories for Girls in Their Teens|Margaret White Eggleston
And listening, there comes up to him from the depths faintly, through the tube: "I'm uninjured, but am bound and helpless."
Miss Dividends|Archibald Clavering Gunter
Feeling painfully insignificant and helpless, he turned and left the room.
Jupiter Lights|Constance Fenimore Woolson
The same God made the eagle, the vulture, the hawk, and their helpless prey.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 4 (of 12)|Robert G. Ingersoll

British Dictionary definitions for helpless

helpless

/ (ˈhɛlplɪs) /

adjective

unable to manage independently

made powerless or weakthey were helpless from so much giggling

without help

Derived Forms

helplessly, adverbhelplessness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

helpless

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of helpless

Related forms

Examples from the Web for helpless

British Dictionary definitions for helpless

helpless

adjective

Derived Forms