impuissance

noun

Definition of impuissancenext
as in impotence

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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 impuissance But all of that will be moot if Washington’s rushing attack is not significantly improved from the impuissance of last season. — Ben Baskin, SI.com, 14 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impuissance
  1. impotence
  2. helplessness
  3. powerlessness
  4. exhaustion
  5. fatigue
  6. defenselessness
  7. lassitude
  8. weariness
Noun
  • Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 had demonstrated the impotence of the League of Nations, and the Spanish Civil War of 1936-9 was a touchstone cause for the British left.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In the diaries, Pavese casts his impotence into a kind of worldview.
    — Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of impotence
Noun
  • Although the film is not true to some parts of the book, which caused some controversy among staunch King fans, Kubrick does bring to life the terrors King so aptly wrote about, including domestic abuse, isolation, helplessness, and alcoholism.
    — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Could Kleist’s conjecture provide a key to their seeming vacancy, their resignation, their helplessness, suggesting that in their benighted condition lies spiritual perfection?
    — Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of helplessness
Noun
  • The study was designed to examine the psychological effects of authority and powerlessness in a prison setting, according to the university.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026
  • New characters are introduced, many interesting details are offered, yet the narration never loses its focus, every sentence adding to the characters’ mounting sense of powerlessness in the face of such a tragic death.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of powerlessness
Noun
  • Security by exhaustion The internet is held together with shoestring and bubblegum.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Change fatigue is a state of exhaustion workers may experience after going through many changes at their employer.
    — Sarah Jackson, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of exhaustion
Noun
  • And yet, the dominant feeling for most people is fatigue, not freedom.
    — Aditi Sinha, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • But at the moment, Trump fatigue is taking a real toll on Fox’s ratings, and thus its bottom line.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of fatigue
Noun
  • The fragile defenselessness of the proud has proven mesmerizing.
    — Lo Patrick, PEOPLE, 14 July 2026
Definition of defenselessness
Noun
  • Stranger by the Lake is a bookend of sorts to La Piscine, as both films seem to condemn their characters, and by extension, the counterculture surrounding them, to a lassitude incapable of any moral authority.
    — Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
  • The result of this lassitude is that cars still rule the streets.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of lassitude
Noun
  • Then there were the struggling players who had no weariness excuse.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But John Bravender, a weather service warning coordination meteorologist, said 2026 has yielded a different type of weariness in Hawaii.
    — John Raby, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of weariness

Browse Nearby Words

impugns
impuissance
impuissant
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Cite this Entry

“Impuissance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impuissance. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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