high and dry

unable to act or achieve one's purpose the inadequate supplies of vaccine left many people high and dry when the flu season arrived Synonyms hamstrung, handcuffed, helpless, powerless, hog-tied, impotent, impuissant, paralyzed, weakRelated Words incapable, incompetent, ineffective, ineffectual, inept, unfit, useless; feeble, frail, infirm, passive, spineless, supine, unaggressiveNear Antonyms able, capable, competent, effective, efficient; authoritarian, autocratic (also autocratical), despotic, dictatorial, magisterial, tyrannical (also tyrannic); dominant, dynamic, energetic, forceful, robust, sturdy, tough, vigorous; important, major, significant; high-level, senior, topAntonyms mighty, potent, powerful, puissant, strong