powerless

[pou-er-lis]

adjective

1. unable to produce an effect.

   a disease against which modern medicine is virtually powerless.

   Synonyms: ineffective

2. lacking power pow power to act; helpless.

   His legs crumpled, and he was powerless to rise.

   Synonyms: infirm, prostrate, impotent, feeble

powerless

/ ˈpaʊəlɪs /

adjective

1. without power or authority

Other Word Forms

• powerlessly adverb
• powerlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of powerless¹

First recorded in 1545–55; power + -less

Example Sentences

We gave our children the addictive devices—we were addicted to them ourselves—and felt powerless to control the forces we had set loose in our own families.

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But a preacher without a flock is powerless.

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Her vaguely written wealth feels like something pasted onto the script at the last second to make us feel less sympathy for Maggie than we would if she was genuinely powerless.

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“I think a lot of Democrats are frustrated and feel powerless, and so that rhetoric has this cathartic effect,” he said.

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We ask PC Middleton if he can see why some people believe the police are powerless.

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Related Words

• defenseless 
• disenfranchised 
• helpless 
• impotent 
• incapable 
• ineffective 
• ineffectual 
• inert 
• paralyzed www.thesaurus.com
• passive 
• vulnerable 
• weak