learned helplessness
Britishnoun
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.
Better equipped to mother Boy No. 2 or stricken with learned helplessness from being coddled by an expert on my phone day in and day out?
From Slate • May 10, 2026
Such learned helplessness would be a serious mistake.
From Slate • Aug. 15, 2025
“It’s almost like the ‘learned’ part of learned helplessness is learning that you lack control.”
From Salon • Mar. 18, 2025
A local psychologist is finishing a lecture on how to overcome "learned helplessness" and believe you have the power to change your life.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2024
Such dangerous leaders and other pathocrats want us to surrender to learned helplessness and be in awe of their power.
From Salon • Feb. 20, 2024
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.
