1
as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in
in their bitter custody battle, the divorcing couple are at a total impasse
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2
as in predicament
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
the impossible impasse faced by those who opposed the war but did not want to seem disloyal to the troops
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Examples of impasse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The coach had no further updates on Aiyuk’s contract impasse nor that of left tackle Trent Williams, who’s been a no-show since camp started.
—
Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
There was a brief period in late 2019 where the two entities reached an impasse about the future of the character in the MCU, and their agreement was temporarily called off.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 Sep. 2024
The spat’s timing is terrible for consumers, the result of an impasse that came after the companies haggled for weeks over the carriage fees Disney receives for its programming.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024
Fundamentally, the impasse is due to divided control of Congress, with Democrats narrowly controlling the Senate while the GOP holds a single-digit edge in the House—and some members of the GOP caucus believe the party should use the process to push for spending cuts.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse 
Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2024
There was a brief period in late 2019 where the two entities reached an impasse about the future of the character in the MCU, and their agreement was temporarily called off.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 Sep. 2024
The spat’s timing is terrible for consumers, the result of an impasse that came after the companies haggled for weeks over the carriage fees Disney receives for its programming.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024
Fundamentally, the impasse is due to divided control of Congress, with Democrats narrowly controlling the Senate while the GOP holds a single-digit edge in the House—and some members of the GOP caucus believe the party should use the process to push for spending cuts.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impasse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impasse. Accessed 10 Oct. 2024.
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