as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
claims that such restrictions on military interventions on foreign soil would render the nation an impuissant giant on the world stage
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for impuissant
Adjective
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But when his son Naseer was born in May 2025, Ajas Ahmed had never felt so helpless.
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Over the course of a 60-yard run, Maradona danced past opponents, escaped challenges and left English defenders helpless before beating the goalkeeper with a clinical finish.
Adjective
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The teen, who was crossing the street at the time, was run over twice by the truck, causing catastrophic injuries that left him paralyzed from the waist down, local ABC affiliate WKBW reported.
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Surely there were those in attendance, and those watching, who conjured horrible thoughts of Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley being left permanently paralyzed from the chest down after taking a vicious hit from the Oakland Raiders’ Jack Tatum during a 1978 preseason game.
Adjective
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Depressed wages, a weak currency and hyperinflation have continued to make life difficult for ordinary Venezuelans, many of whom struggle to afford basic goods.
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There, the Sox scored on a weak, off-line throw from shallow left fielder José Caballero.
Adjective
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The drought that has plagued much of the Chesapeake Bay’s watershed during the first half of this year is causing strains to drinking water supplies, hurting crop output and leaving many rafters and boaters high and dry.
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If everything goes to plan — and with no relief from the weather — Flaming Gorge will fall by as much as 27 feet (8 meters) a year from now, leaving Buckboard Marina even more high and dry.
Adjective
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Clinical psychologists concluded after exams in the six years since his arrest that McGuire was incompetent to stand trial.
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She was found incompetent to stand trial and was committed to the Missouri Department of Mental Health, according to a statement provided by Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Jazzlyn Johnson.
Cite this Entry
“Impuissant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impuissant. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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