HELPLESS Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

helpless

adjective

ˈhel-pləs

Definition of helpless

as in vulnerable

lacking protection from danger or resistance against attack after the storm we found a helpless baby bird that had fallen out of its nest

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in paralyzed

unable to act or achieve one's purpose we watched, feeling helpless, as the vase slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of helpless But passengers don’t have to be helpless during these stressful ordeals. — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2026 Technology can erode privacy, concentrate power, damage the environment, and leave people feeling helpless. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026 Y’know, the two living, breathing, helpless children forced to sit idle while their mother and (almost) step-father constantly and brazenly risk abandoning them. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 Muslims who are peace-loving and helpless also need a hand up. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for helpless

Recent Examples of Synonyms for helpless

Adjective

The model examined the website, found a vulnerable script and used it to complete the calculation.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Focusing on low income nations and vulnerable populations has been a defining thread throughout Georgieva's career.

— , CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of vulnerable

Adjective

Hasan was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in the back by law enforcement and now uses a wheelchair.

— Seung Min Kim, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
When her aunt Helena and paralyzed grandmother Regina arrive, the fragile boundaries between everyday life, ancestral superstition and Trina’s increasingly disturbing nightmares begin to collapse.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of paralyzed

Adjective

Tom describes himself as uniquely susceptible to this kind of stimulation, something that Kenny, the Mount Sinai neuroscientist, says may have some credence.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
The United States also has a uniquely large and diverse economy that is far less susceptible to shocks than many of its smaller peers.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of susceptible

Adjective

Otherwise, the far left profits by calling the state oppressive, and the far right profits by calling it powerless.

— Tyler Speicher, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
The result is Unhinged, a first-person horror game in which Ava (voiced by Zoë Kravitz) must flee a killer through a powerless apartment building.

— Matthew Huff, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of powerless

Adjective

Powell said Escobar showed up to Friday’s meeting on-duty, with his crew on a fire engine, and called some board members incompetent.

— Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Court records obtained by CBS News Atlanta reveal that a judge declared 54-year-old Jonathan Hamby incompetent, putting him on a separate competency docket.

— Dan Raby, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026