as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
I wish I could help you, but I am powerless in this situation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of powerless
Which is why central banks are powerless over where dollars go and in what amount.
—
John Tamny, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
This created huge frustration for 911 professionals, who felt powerless to deploy life-saving resources to people who needed them.
—Alison Coleman, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Inside our powerless building, ash already raining outside, reason escaped me.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Jan. 2025
Although young victims whose parents don’t want to press charges pose an obstacle, experts said the department was not powerless to protect the public.
—Ana Claudia Chacin, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for powerless 
John Tamny, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2025
This created huge frustration for 911 professionals, who felt powerless to deploy life-saving resources to people who needed them.
—Alison Coleman, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
Inside our powerless building, ash already raining outside, reason escaped me.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Jan. 2025
Although young victims whose parents don’t want to press charges pose an obstacle, experts said the department was not powerless to protect the public.
—Ana Claudia Chacin, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for powerless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for powerless
Adjective
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As the screaming continued, the terrified neighbor, 44, shooed her young sons away from the door and looked through the peephole into the hallway, watching as the assailant stabbed the helpless woman in the back of her neck with a knife at least 8 inches long.—
Ellen Moynihan,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2025
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What can people do to spread more civility rather than feeling helpless?—
Stephen Humphries,
The Christian Science Monitor,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Nature Medicine View 1 Images Brain-computer interfaces may allow paralyzed people to perform basic actions such as eating and typing, but … well, there's more to life than eating and typing.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
26 Jan. 2025
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The paralyzed participant has worked with researchers as far back as 2016, and expressed a particular interest in flying the virtual drone.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Its economy and productivity are weak, debt is high and trade diversification is low, the analysts added, singling out the country’s already-declining softwood lumber industry as particularly at risk.—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
3 Feb. 2025
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When those cells outnumber the osteoblasts, though, there's an overall loss of bone tissue, resulting in weaker, more fragile bones.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
2 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Powerless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/powerless. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
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