helpless

[help-lis]

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.

Origin of helpless

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

Related formshelp·less·ly, adverbhelp·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for helplessness

powerlessness, weakness, disorder, convalescence, inability, incapacity, failure

Examples from the Web for helplessness

Contemporary Examples of helplessness

You may have felt, like I did, lots of emotions—but the most dangerous of them is helplessness.
What We Need Are Anti-Racists
Gene Robinson
August 24, 2014
The brokenness of the political system drives the former, and helplessness drives the latter.
The Awful Apps That Let You Vote With Your Wallet
Tim Mak
August 22, 2014
A feeling of helplessness and its resulting paralysis are the enemy of the Good.
Hope When the World’s Gone Off the Rails
Gene Robinson
July 27, 2014
“I was humiliated at the thought of my helplessness,” he said.
Retired Marine Reveals Secret Suffering of Male Military Rape Victims
Caitlin Dickson
February 27, 2014
We entangle them in a web of fear, of helplessness and anguish.
Introducing Tzipi Livni to the Occupation
Avner Gvaryahu
October 1, 2013

Historical Examples of helplessness

We are not always marking time on the same spot of ignorance and helplessness.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
We cannot stop making them, but we can give them a name that conceals our helplessness.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
She signified her helplessness with a quick and dainty movement of her hands.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
It is, at its very plainest, mingled of a regard for hilarity and a regard for helplessness.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
But she would go on, until in my helplessness I remarked how beautiful the day had been.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable

British Dictionary definitions for helplessness

helpless

adjective

unable to manage independently
made powerless or weakthey were helpless from so much giggling
without help

Derived Formshelplessly, 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

Word Origin and History for helplessness

helpless

adj.

"unable to act for oneself," c.1200, from help (n.) + -less. Related: Helplessly; helplessness. In Middle English and later sometimes also "unable to give help, affording no help" (late 14c.), but this was never common.