helpless

[help-lis]

adjective

1. unable to help oneself; weak or dependent.

   a helpless invalid.

2. deprived of strength or power; powerless; incapacitated.

   They were helpless with laughter.

3. affording no help.

helpless

/ ˈhɛlplɪs /

adjective

1. unable to manage independently

2. made powerless or weak

   they were helpless from so much giggling

3. without help

Other Word Forms

• helplessly adverb
• helplessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of helpless¹

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English; help + -less

Example Sentences

Skyy Clark blew by one helpless defender after another on the way to repeated driving layups.

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"You can show that you are not helpless, not dependent," he said.

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He finds that men who have absorbed these ideas “feel helpless,” like they are “not ever going to be ‘man enough'” to succeed at dating.

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Life wants to push and pull me around, like some helpless leaf in the wind, but it picked the wrong night to mess with me.

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Simon gave Penelope a helpless look, adjusted his dress, and strode back in.

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Related Words

• defenseless 
• destitute 
• forlorn 
• impotent 
• paralyzed www.thesaurus.com
• powerless 
• unable 
• unprotected 
• vulnerable 
• weak