powerless
adjective
pow·er·less
ˈpau̇(-ə)r-ləs 
1
: devoid of strength or resources
powerless victims
2
: lacking the authority or capacity to act
was powerless to help
powerlessly
adverb
powerlessness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of powerless in a Sentence
I wish I could help you, but I am powerless in this situation.
Recent Examples on the Web
Advertisement The radicalization of the young is rooted in the generation that came of age during the isolation of the pandemic and has since seen governments as either powerless or indifferent to climate change, wealth gaps and stopping wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
—
Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
And yet, despite that lack of fence-clearing swings, Torkelson isn’t completely powerless — his two doubles Sunday in New York brought him to 11 on the season … tops in the American League.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 6 May 2024
But that had less to do with an unsentimental assessment of Russia’s possible trajectory than with the shame of Yalta, when Washington proved powerless to deliver on its promises of free and fair elections after World War II, and the post-1989 pleas of the potential new entrants for admission.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
The film is about a young man who is hunting a group of corrupt officials responsible for his mother's death, then inadvertently becomes a savior of his city's poor and powerless.
—Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week Us, theweek, 5 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for powerless 
Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
And yet, despite that lack of fence-clearing swings, Torkelson isn’t completely powerless — his two doubles Sunday in New York brought him to 11 on the season … tops in the American League.
—Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 6 May 2024
But that had less to do with an unsentimental assessment of Russia’s possible trajectory than with the shame of Yalta, when Washington proved powerless to deliver on its promises of free and fair elections after World War II, and the post-1989 pleas of the potential new entrants for admission.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
The film is about a young man who is hunting a group of corrupt officials responsible for his mother's death, then inadvertently becomes a savior of his city's poor and powerless.
—Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week Us, theweek, 5 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for powerless
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'powerless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Powerless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/powerless. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
powerless
adjective
pow·er·less
ˈpau̇(-ə)r-ləs
1
: lacking power, force, or energy
2
: lacking authority to act
powerlessly
adverb
powerlessness
noun
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