as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
cursed his powerlessness to affect the outcome of his friend's life-threatening illness
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Recent Examples of powerlessness
Koestler suggests that a stroke of good fortune, or a vision of the sublime, may evoke a sense of powerlessness — of being rapt, overwhelmed, enraptured, entranced — which overlaps with the helplessness of loss and defeat, and which evokes a similar surrender.
—
Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
Here are some steps to prevent your team from succumbing to the sense of powerlessness associated with the Great Lock-In trend.
—Juliette Han, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
There was a clear vocabulary to define consent within OneTaste, but one witness after another spoke of pressure and powerlessness.
—Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
An icy wave of powerlessness threatens to drown me.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
Here are some steps to prevent your team from succumbing to the sense of powerlessness associated with the Great Lock-In trend.
—Juliette Han, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
There was a clear vocabulary to define consent within OneTaste, but one witness after another spoke of pressure and powerlessness.
—Thessaly La Force, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2025
An icy wave of powerlessness threatens to drown me.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for powerlessness
inability
Noun
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In other democracies, such inability to drive through legislation would most likely be met by a confidence vote, perhaps the ousting of the head of the party of government and a general election.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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Fifty-five percent of manufacturers in the state said cost increases have been the biggest impact and 32% reported that uncertainty or an inability to plan was the biggest impact.—
Anna Kleiber,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Powerlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/powerlessness. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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