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
Healthy river:To keep the Colorado River's heart beating, people step in to do what nature once did
Reaching for a consensus by year's end
The states appear headed toward next month’s annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference at an impasse.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2024
Most likely the union impasse will be settled shortly, simply because there is little alternative for either side.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
The union and company remain at an impasse, and airplane production at factories in the Seattle area and other locations has been idled, depriving Boeing of cash.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
Paramount Global and Nielsen have hit a contract impasse as CBS News gets set to host the vice presidential debate Tuesday night.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impasse 
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Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 21 Nov. 2024
Most likely the union impasse will be settled shortly, simply because there is little alternative for either side.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
The union and company remain at an impasse, and airplane production at factories in the Seattle area and other locations has been idled, depriving Boeing of cash.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2024
Paramount Global and Nielsen have hit a contract impasse as CBS News gets set to host the vice presidential debate Tuesday night.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2024
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 Dec. 2024.
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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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