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impotent

adjective

ˈim-pə-tənt How to pronounce impotent (audio)
Definition of impotentnext
1
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring most mules are impotent

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose an impotent ruler who was just a figurehead

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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 impotent Decadence is the vanity of bodybuilders made impotent by steroids. — Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for impotent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impotent
  1. sterile
  2. helpless
  3. barren
  4. paralyzed
  5. weak
Adjective
  • That’s because orchids live in sterile bark or moss with high airflow.
    — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Sep. 2026
  • This grading is critically different from that of purified products graded for use in sterile injectable drugs.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of sterile
Adjective
  • What bothers Fairchild is the assumption behind it — that the dancers are voiceless and helpless.
    — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Y’know, the two living, breathing, helpless children forced to sit idle while their mother and (almost) step-father constantly and brazenly risk abandoning them.
    — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of helpless
Adjective
  • The Ground Zero site was an enormous, barren dirt hole in the ground.
    — Thomas E. Franklin, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Its barren sand and rock moonscape feels for all the world like the land that time forgot.
    — Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of barren
Adjective
  • Lasko suffered the spinal cord injury in a collision with a teammate June 30 that left him paralyzed from the chest down, with both arms affected, too.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The former labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston then jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, which left her paralyzed from the waist down.
    — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of paralyzed
Adjective
  • But the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has devolved significantly since its glory days atop the comedy calendar, proving to be a weaker platform for political satire than the Onion’s takeover of Infowars.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Production disruptions and weak output in Chile, the world’s biggest producer, sent prices to record highs, with the US accumulating huge stockpiles and smelters in China forced to turn to scraps to meet that country’s industrial needs.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of weak

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impotent
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Cite this Entry

“Impotent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impotent. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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