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
The jury of six men and six women declared themselves at an impasse after multiple days of deliberation, unable to reach a unanimous verdict on all three charges.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 18 June 2025
But the talks have been at an impasse, as competing proposals have created a rift between the three states in the river’s lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — and the four states in the river’s upper basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
The negotiations have become increasingly strained in recent weeks and appear to have reached an impasse over the levels of enriched uranium.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2025
The Context Tensions in the region have escalated in recent days, as talks between the U.S. and Iran have reached an impasse.
—Sonam Sheth
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Rachel Treisman, NPR, 18 June 2025
But the talks have been at an impasse, as competing proposals have created a rift between the three states in the river’s lower basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — and the four states in the river’s upper basin — Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
The negotiations have become increasingly strained in recent weeks and appear to have reached an impasse over the levels of enriched uranium.
—Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2025
The Context Tensions in the region have escalated in recent days, as talks between the U.S. and Iran have reached an impasse.
—Sonam Sheth
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 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 23 Jun. 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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