Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

powerless

American  
[pou-er-lis] / ˈpaʊ ər lɪs /

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 British  
/ ˈpaʊəlɪs /

adjective

  1. without power or authority

"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

Other Word Forms

  • powerlessly adverb
  • powerlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of powerless

First recorded in 1545–55; power + -less

Explanation

Powerless means lacking strength, ability, or authority. If nothing you do stops your dog from barking, you're powerless to make her be quiet. A person who doesn't have the power they need to accomplish something can be described as powerless. A flustered substitute teacher is powerless to silence a chattering classroom, and citizens who don't vote are powerless to change their elected representatives in Congress. Power, "strength or vigor," can be traced back to a root meaning "power" or "lord." When you add the suffix -less, or "lacking," you get powerless.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

"It was very distressing, I was losing sleep and just feeling so powerless," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

A Hong Kong content creator dressed head to toe in Tod's, 26-year-old Stephanie Hui, said people were "desensitised" to stories of sweatshop conditions in the fashion industry, with consumers feeling powerless to effect change.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

All those moving parts for a player who only made it onto the park as a sub fielder while Australia were still mathematically alive, with Smith powerless to stop Sri Lanka and Pathum Nissanka's charge.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026

The powerful are assumed to be perpetrators, the powerless victims.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

Cursing herself for her small-mindedness even as she was powerless before it.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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.