impasse
Americannoun
-
a position or situation from which there is no escape; deadlock.
- Synonyms:
- dead end, standoff, standstill, stalemate
-
a road or way that has no outlet; cul-de-sac.
noun
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.
Vocabulary lists containing impasse
This Week in Words: January 20 - 26, 2018
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This Week in Words: March 16–22, 2019
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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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.
Most Asian shares were lower in morning trade on Monday, extending slides in global markets, as the impasse in the Middle East drove oil prices more than two percent higher.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
U.S. stock-index futures fell and crude prices rose on Sunday, after the market’s rally stalled last week as oil prices rose sharply amid the impasse in the war with Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026
But "it might just break the impasse," said another MP, by giving others a vehicle to express their view that the leadership needs to change.
From BBC • May 9, 2026
Essentially the Bank was trying to provide detail around some of the "ifs" and "maybes" to manage expectations of what outcomes are plausible if the Gulf impasse lasts several months.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
How the incoming president would have resolved this impasse if Jefferson had agreed to resume the collaboration is impossible to know.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
