HELPLESSLY Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

helpless

adjective

ˈhel-pləs

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

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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

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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 Mikey Eyssimont fed Khusnutdinov low in the right circle and, with a Fraser Minten screen, snapped it past the helpless Skinner for his 13th of the season. —

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 2026 But none of them is as persistent, as desperate, as helpless as a parent. —

Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026 Coastal Carolina looked helpless again against Ruger Riojas, who whiffed two Chanticleers in the second. —

David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026 The timing of this recent turn to tanking is just another example of the helpless, tireless tardiness that has plagued the Karnišovas era in Chicago. —

Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for helpless

Recent Examples of Synonyms for helpless

Adjective

But if the jumpers go cold, the Tide will be vulnerable to a first-round upset.

— Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026
On a typical day, a significant share of oil exports from the Arabian Peninsula depends on just a handful of critical routes and terminals -- making the system highly vulnerable to disruption, according to Matt Smith, the lead oil analyst at energy consultant group Kpler.

— Victor Ordonez, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026