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

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

Oil prices extended the previous session’s gains as talks to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway hit an impasse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

That impasse has raised a haunting question: How can someone vanish without a trace, especially when the world is watching?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Talks over a new deal at Real were at an impasse but the Spanish side have now made a new offer to Vinicius, who is understood to be appreciative of the fresh terms.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

The main outline of the visible and available evidence, however, reveals a man questioning his own characteristic excesses, which had somehow put him on a course that led to the current impasse.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Besides brokering negotiations for private employers, the mediators handle worker grievances; train joint labor-management committees; appoint arbitrators if a dispute cannot be resolved; and assist with negotiation impasses in the federal sector.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025

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

He has appealed to Spaniards to give him enough votes to "end the impasses" in the country's politics.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2023

Spain has held four in the past four years because coalition agreements could not be reached, with some such impasses lasting as long as six months.

From Reuters ● Jul. 14, 2023

The main streets branch out into thousands of impasses each ending in a locked door.

From The Luck of Thirteen Wanderings and Flight through Montenegro and Serbia by Cora Gordon

Related Words

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