powerless

He had been scared and powerless to protect himself, and Moscow had been silent.
How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Radicalized Putin|Masha Gessen|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unable to make it to a hospital, or too afraid, parents are dying at home alongside kids who are powerless to save them.
Liberia’s Ebola Orphans|Abby Haglage|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hanifa and her father and mother and brother spent 10 days on the mountain, fearing for the girls, but powerless to help them.
Hanifa's Story: Her Five Sisters Taken by ISIS to Be Sold or Worse|Christine van den Toorn|August 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mayor Ben West met them there, and repeated his usual explanation of how the city was powerless to change segregation.
Why We’ll Always Need a Civil Rights Movement|Sally Kohn|July 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Bill of Rights, and especially the First Amendment, were intended to protect the powerless from the tyranny of the powerful.
The Supreme Court Turns the First Amendment Into a Weapon for Corporations|Sally Kohn|July 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Evil is devised against you—evil you are powerless now to resist.
Pabo, The Priest|Sabine Baring-Gould
But Mrs. Greenow with a word or two had settled it all, and Mr. Cheesacre had found himself to be powerless.
Can You Forgive Her?|Anthony Trollope
His heart is with the good cause, though his arm is powerless.
The Last Penny and Other Stories|T. S. Arthur
Two empires, or rather an empress and a minister, deeply hate us but they are powerless!
The Royal Life Guard|Alexander Dumas (pere)
No wife in this parish is so poor as I; powerless in the folds of a serpent.
A Terrible Temptation|Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for powerless

powerless

/ (ˈpaʊəlɪs) /

adjective

without power or authority

Derived Formspowerlessly, adverbpowerlessness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for powerless

powerless

adj.

early 15c., "lacking might or fortitude," from power (n.) + -less. Related: Powerlessly; powerlessness.

powerless

adjective

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British Dictionary definitions for powerless

powerless

adjective

Word Origin and History for powerless

powerless