1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
Synonyms
Examples of impasse in a Sentence
The players are poised to strike after Thursday's games because they believe, with good reason, that if no agreement is reached by the end of the post-season, the owners will declare an impasse …
—
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Recent Examples on the Web
The origin of the trade discussions with Carolina actually goes back to before June’s draft when the Hurricanes were at a contract impasse with Necas and shopping him around the league, according to league sources.
—Chris Johnston, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
The Mets and Alonso, whose 226 home runs rank third in franchise history, have been at an impasse all offseason, with a reported three-year offer in the $70 million range not believed to be close to what the slugger is seeking.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2025
That seems to be the impasse, trying to cobble everything together in one bill or splitting it up into two.
—Matt Galka, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
After a minute, the car reversed out of that impasse—a move that Levinson explained required an authorization from a human supervisor—and then angled forward into a lane to the left of the traffic-cone alley.
—Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for impasse 
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Chris Johnston, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
The Mets and Alonso, whose 226 home runs rank third in franchise history, have been at an impasse all offseason, with a reported three-year offer in the $70 million range not believed to be close to what the slugger is seeking.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2025
That seems to be the impasse, trying to cobble everything together in one bill or splitting it up into two.
—Matt Galka, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
After a minute, the car reversed out of that impasse—a move that Levinson explained required an authorization from a human supervisor—and then angled forward into a lane to the left of the traffic-cone alley.
—Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for impasse
Dictionary Entries Near impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
impasse
noun
im·passe
ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas 
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position
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