hog–tied

unable to act or achieve one's purpose prosecutors were hog-tied as the convicted felon was freed on a technicality Synonyms hamstrung, handcuffed, helpless, high and dry, 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