impotent

[ im-puh-tuhnt ]

/ ˈɪm pə tənt /

adjective

not potent; lacking power or ability.

utterly unable (to do something).

without force or effectiveness.

lacking bodily strength or physically helpless.

(of a male) unable to attain or sustain a penile erection.

(especially of a male) sterile.

Obsolete. without restraint.

noun

an impotent person: therapy for sexual impotents.

Nearby words

impostor syndrome, impostume, imposture, imposure, impotence, impotent, impound, impoundment, impoverish, impoverished, impower

Origin of impotent

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin impotent- (stem of impotēns) without power over oneself or others. See im-², potent¹

SYNONYMS FOR impotent

1, 2 powerless, helpless.

3 ineffectual, ineffective, feeble, weak.

Related forms

im·po·tent·ly, adverb

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

Examples from the Web for impotently

All while the international community observed, if not passively, impotently.
The Radicals Who Slaughtered a Synagogue|Creede Newton|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And yet the silly old woman felt a lack, as she impotently watched Rachel leave the kitchen.
The Price of Love|Arnold Bennett
Clutching wildly and impotently at his aggressor, Hughes felt his strength failing.
The Ruined Cities of Zululand|Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley
This was resented, but impotently, by the various sovereigns.
Invention|Bradley A. Fiske

Those who had flourished under the old system retired to their holes, impotently cursing the new regime.
Grey Town|Gerald Baldwin
It was, to be sure, a flower-strewn one, but often she impotently rebelled against its very orderliness.
Bucky O'Connor|William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for impotently

impotent

/ (ˈɪmpətənt) /

adjective

(when postpositive, often takes an infinitive) lacking sufficient strength; powerless

(esp of males) unable to perform sexual intercourseSee erectile impotence

obsolete lacking self-control; unrestrained

Derived Forms

impotence, impotency or impotentness, nounimpotently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for impotently

impotent

[ ĭm′pə-tənt ]

adj.

Incapable of sexual intercourse, often because of an inability to achieve or sustain an erection.

Sterile. Used of males.