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

Etymology

Origin of impasse

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

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

The two sides have been at an impasse on several issues, including US tariffs on autos, and many Canadian provinces banning American liquor sales.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

But when the Justice Department filed this civil rights lawsuit in March, it pointed to an extraordinary impasse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Talks to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz hit an impasse this week, prolonging disruptions to shipping through one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

It’s Mayfield’s belief that he should be part of the club of passers earning at that level, but he doesn’t plan to resolve the impasse anytime soon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Without any knowledge of the probability of there being various amounts of money in the envelopes, there is no way out of this impasse.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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

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

However the mandatory coalition of rivals has collapsed several times since then for a number of reasons, with the longest impasses lasting from 2002 to 2007 and from 2017 to 2020.

From Reuters ● Feb. 10, 2023

Issuing subpoenas and holding agency heads in contempt were rare, though impasses occurred in nearly every administration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2023

Oh, she could recall skirmishes and narrow impasses!

From The Sentimental Adventures of Jimmy Bulstrode by Marie Van Vorst

Related Words

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