impotence

[im-puh-tuh ns]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR impotence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the condition or quality of being impotent; weakness.

chronic inability to attain or sustain an erection for the performance of a sexual act.

sterility, especially in the male.

Obsolete. lack of self-restraint.

Also im·po·ten·cy, im·po·tent·ness.

Origin of impotence

1375–1425; late Middle English, variant (see -ence) of impotencie < Latin impotentia want of self-control, weakness. See im-², potency

Can be confusedimpetus impotence sterilityimportance impotence (see synonym study at importance)impotence sterility sterilized

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for impotence

infertility, powerlessness, helplessness, barrenness, feebleness, infirmity, infecundity

Examples from the Web for impotence

Contemporary Examples of impotence

Brinkley explained that despite all the recent advances in medicine, there still was nothing to be done for impotence.
The Strange, True Tale of the Old-Timey Goat Testicle-Implanting 'Governor'
Penny Lane
September 16, 2014
That is the height of cynicism, combined with an admission of impotence.
Border Kids Crisis—Impotent Congress
John Avlon
July 10, 2014
Male infertility was extremely stigmatic: it was falsely conflated with impotence.
Israel’s Sperm Clinic Crisis
Alastair Sloan
March 16, 2014
European history also suggests the impotence of criminal law in these matters.
How (Not) to Fight Racism and Anti-Semitism
Jacob Mchangama
February 22, 2014
The reason, Foster argues, is that impotence implies a lack of virility, a lack of manliness.
What the Sex Lives of the Founding Fathers Reveal About Us
Eric Herschthal
February 21, 2014

Historical Examples of impotence

Madden quivered at his impotence to put his hand on the thief in the crowd.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
I had not then been a monument of impotence and misery for the world to gaze at.
Imogen
William Godwin
If you would be delivered from your impotence—oh, fear not to say, “I will, I will!”
The Ministry of Intercession
Andrew Murray
Mr. Bentham sighed, as though his impotence were a matter of sincere regret to him.
The Avenger
E. Phillips Oppenheim
This shows the impotence of any person who tries to prevent such infamies.
The Sexual Question
August Forel

Word Origin and History for impotence

early 15c., "physical weakness," also "poverty," from Middle French impotence "weakness," from Latin impotentia "lack of control or power," from impotentem (nominative impotens); see impotent. In reference to a want of (male) sexual potency, from c.1500. The figurative senses of the word in Latin were "violence, fury, unbridled passion." Related: Impotency.

impotence in Medicine

impotence

[ĭm′pə-təns]

n.

The quality or condition of being impotent.

erectile dysfunction