Definition of powerless
1 : devoid of strength or resources powerless victims
2 : lacking the authority or capacity to act was powerless to help
powerlessly
adverbpowerlessness
nounPeople Are Reading
Examples of powerless in a Sentence
I wish I could help you, but I am powerless in this situation.
Recent Examples of powerless from the Web
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But at the very least, the failure of this iteration of Trumpcare demonstrates that the Senator Majority Leader is not some supernaturally gifted parliamentarian whom Democrats are powerless to stop.
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As a broke teen, the response made McKnight feel powerless.
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In the next two years, Democrats in Congress will be almost powerless to stop this Trump agenda.
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Today, these early tools share space with a gyroscope, fingerprint scanner, and other enhancements—many of the iPhone’s most influential games and apps would be powerless without them.
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BOZZOLO, Italy (AP) — Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to northern Italy on Tuesday to honor two 20th-century parish priests whose commitment to the poor and powerless brought them censure from the Vatican.
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After that, the Royals (34-36) were rendered powerless until Whit Merrifield drew a walk and Bonifacio clubbed his 10th homer in the ninth.
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The authorities appeared to have ignored multiple warnings that drew from the experience of fires in other properties under their control, simply because they were not constrained by the law and knew the tenants were powerless to do anything.
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During his five months in office, Trump has appeared powerless to stop leaks, even after last week's criminal charges against alleged leaker Reality Leigh Winner.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'powerless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of powerless
15th century
POWERLESS Defined for English Language Learners
powerless
playDefinition of powerless for English Language Learners
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: having no power : unable to do something or to stop something
POWERLESS Defined for Kids
powerless
playDefinition of powerless for Students
: without power, strength, authority, or influence He was powerless to stop them.
Learn More about powerless
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for powerless Spanish Central: Translation of powerless Nglish: Translation of powerless for Spanish speakers
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