1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
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
Turner spent a decade in Indiana, but the NBA's two-time blocks leader seemed to be at an impasse with his state of affairs in Indianapolis.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025
But, until this year, there was little movement due to the impasse between Amazon executives and the longtime shepherds of all things Bond, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2025
With the two sides at an impasse, Lazier filed the court petition in February 2024.
—Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025
Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the U.S. and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse.
—Arkansas Online, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025
But, until this year, there was little movement due to the impasse between Amazon executives and the longtime shepherds of all things Bond, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 25 June 2025
With the two sides at an impasse, Lazier filed the court petition in February 2024.
—Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2025
Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the U.S. and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program appear to have hit an impasse.
—Arkansas Online, 12 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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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