impasse

[ im-pas, im-pas ]

noun

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.

impasse

/ ɪmˈpɑːs; ˈæmpɑːs; ˈɪmpɑːs; æmˈpɑːs /

noun

1. a situation in which progress is blocked; an insurmountable difficulty; stalemate; deadlock

Word History and Origins

Origin of impasse¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of impasse¹

C19: from French; see im- , pass

Example Sentences

His first book, “The Music Lesson,” published in 2006, is narrated by a young bass player at a creative impasse — skilled, but easily frustrated, and more easily impressed.

From Washington Post

K-8 students were slated to return last week, but the city pushed the date back repeatedly as it faced an impasse with the teachers union, and feared opening without enough staff.

From Washington Post

Amid the back-and-forth, both camps made efforts to avoid addressing head-on the looming possibility that the impasse could escalate into a strike.

From Washington Post

Almost a decade later, after years of incredibly hard work in relative isolation, he found a way around the impasse and proved the experts wrong.

From Quanta Magazine

In a political environment less hostile to Beijing, Congress may have pressured the SEC to take action on the auditing impasse “in a more gradual manner,” rather than through a law of its own, Hirson said.

From Fortune

And a coup probably would exacerbate the economic problems that months of friction, violence and impasse have wrought.

From The Daily Beast

And Kerry said that both Israeli and Palestinian leaders share the blame for the current impasse in the talks.

From The Daily Beast

We believe that we may be close to such an impasse, and we want to present the Commandant with options.

From The Daily Beast

For now, an impasse holds Ukraine in a limbo punctuated by violent outbursts.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, expect attitudes to harden—and the country to remain at impasse.

From The Daily Beast

But at last the absurdity of the impasse forced even the Tashnakists to be a little more reasonable.

From Project Gutenberg

However, I won the toss, and to that fact the subsequent impasse may be attributed.

From Project Gutenberg

In one of the old houses of the Impasse du Doyenn there was a set of rooms remarkable for its salon.

From Project Gutenberg

Only princes and farmers-general could indulge in such magnificence, and the fame of the Impasse would be undying.

From Project Gutenberg

Eventually an impasse was reached over the question of the rights and privileges of British subjects in the Transvaal Republic.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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