1
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
most mules are impotent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
an impotent ruler who was just a figurehead
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 impotent
The Iranian regime is being rendered impotent.
—
FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Even in places that offer highly advanced health care, doctors have felt impotent trying to undo the damage when these horrors return.
—Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2026
This unsettling thriller about impotent (emotionally, literally) university professor Ali (Turkish star Ekin Koç), on the path to vengeance after the suspicious death of his mother, scored strong reviews (including my own) and the World Cinema Directing Award out of the Utah festival.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Yet the Jets' offense was again impotent.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impotent
FOXNews.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Even in places that offer highly advanced health care, doctors have felt impotent trying to undo the damage when these horrors return.
—Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2026
This unsettling thriller about impotent (emotionally, literally) university professor Ali (Turkish star Ekin Koç), on the path to vengeance after the suspicious death of his mother, scored strong reviews (including my own) and the World Cinema Directing Award out of the Utah festival.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 14 Nov. 2025
Yet the Jets' offense was again impotent.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impotent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impotent
Adjective
-
That was eradicated a decade later only with the help of sterile flies, as the US and Mexico scaled up production to as many as 500 million insects a week.—
Ilena Peng,
Fortune,
13 June 2026
-
For shoppers chasing a fragrance that feels personal rather than sterile, 2026 is shaping up as the year of the bee.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
After having put Brazil ahead minutes earlier, Richarlison popped a cross from Vinícius Júnior into the air, spun, and struck a spectacular acrobatic volley past Serbia’s helpless goalkeeper.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 June 2026
-
Sharks often become bycatch – entangled in fishing nets not intended for them, they are rendered helpless and face certain death.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
Adjective
-
Perhaps more interesting still are the hundreds of barren whale remains that the researchers saw during their dives.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
10 June 2026
-
In a barren free-agent class, though, that’s much easier said than done.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
McConnell has always appeared to have a somewhat unsteady gate — a childhood bout of polio left him with a partially paralyzed leg.—
Eric McDaniel,
NPR,
14 June 2026
-
Your stomach isn’t literally paralyzed — but it’s slowed down enough to cause real problems.—
Ryan Brennan,
Sacbee.com,
13 June 2026
Adjective
-
But his father contracted pneumonia in 2011, and after two decades in prison, his body was too weak to fight it.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
-
That gap is where signal blindness, misalignment, bottlenecks, execution delays and weak learning loops quietly convert external change into our fragilities.—
Christopher Washington,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impotent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impotent. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
