1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
Synonyms
Examples of impasse in a Sentence
The players are poised to strike after Thursday's games because they believe, with good reason, that if no agreement is reached by the end of the post-season, the owners will declare an impasse …
—
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Recent Examples on the Web
Soltani hopes the impasse will end before long and said the challenge will be creating a safe space for differing perspectives while providing context for a conflict that has raged off and on for seven decades.
—Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The city broke off negotiations with would-be developer Reven Capital on Thursday, after the two sides reached an impasse on the terms of the deal.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse 
Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The city broke off negotiations with would-be developer Reven Capital on Thursday, after the two sides reached an impasse on the terms of the deal.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impasse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
impasse
noun
im·passe
ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas 
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position
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