powerless

adjective pow·er·less \ ˈpau̇(-ə)r-ləs \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of powerless

1 : devoid of strength or resources

powerless victims

2 : lacking the authority or capacity to act

was powerless to help

—

powerlessly

adverb

—

powerlessness

noun

See powerless defined for English-language learners

See powerless defined for kids

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

Soon, Wade is rendered powerless and thrown into prison alongside a young pyrokinetic mutant named Russell (Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison).

— bryan bishop, The Verge, "Deadpool 2 proves the first movie was no fluke," 15 May 2018
Despite the current lack of of clear laws around what can and cannot be done to virtually augment art, museums aren’t entirely powerless.

— miranda katz, WIRED, "Augmented Reality Is Transforming Museums," 23 Apr. 2018
People who feel powerless and who are more pessimistic are also more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, van Prooijen finds.

— brian resnick, Vox, "9 essential lessons from psychology to understand the Trump era," 11 Apr. 2018
Two potential new signings, then, could be Rodriguez and Dawson and West Brom would be powerless to prevent the pair from wanting to continue plying their trade in the top tier of English football.

— SI.com, "Crystal Palace Reportedly Lining Up £30m Double Summer Swoop for Key West Brom Stars," 2 May 2018
In this context, the fact that California Republicans are so powerless is a good thing.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "DI Politics Chat: Upzoning the American Dream," 21 Apr. 2018
People with the disorder often know that their fear is unreasonable, but still feel powerless to do anything about it, the organization says.

— korin miller, SELF, "6 Things People Need to Stop Getting Wrong About Social Anxiety," 12 Apr. 2018
Otherwise, the system is so rigged against people of color that even our first black president was rendered largely powerless against it, and the country is suffering a backlash for his even trying.

— glenn nelson, Outside Online, "Op-Ed: Of Course Zinke Doesn't Care About Diversity," 3 Apr. 2018
The upshot of that: If Trump pardoned Paul Manafort for a money-laundering charge brought by the special counsel, New York prosecutors would be powerless to prosecute him for analogous offenses against the Empire State.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "New York AG Calls for Closing Presidential Pardon Loophole," 18 Apr. 2018

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.