as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
the inadequate supplies of vaccine left many people high and dry when the flu season arrived
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Recent Examples of high and dry
Sheryl Crow didn't mean to leave her fans high and dry in Atlanta.
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Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 13 Aug. 2024
European countries, fearing Chinese economic retaliation, could end up leaving Washington high and dry, fracturing the transatlantic alliance in the process.
—Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2023
Chris Brown appeared less than pleased after a set malfunction during his New Jersey concert left him hanging high and dry… literally.
—EW.com, 13 June 2024
How much longer will the Navy be left high and dry?
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 11 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for high and dry 
Jack Irvin, Peoplemag, 13 Aug. 2024
European countries, fearing Chinese economic retaliation, could end up leaving Washington high and dry, fracturing the transatlantic alliance in the process.
—Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2023
Chris Brown appeared less than pleased after a set malfunction during his New Jersey concert left him hanging high and dry… literally.
—EW.com, 13 June 2024
How much longer will the Navy be left high and dry?
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 11 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for high and dry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high and dry
Adjective
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Elizabeth Taylor felt helpless learning a close friend's fate along with the world.Angela Andaloro, People.com, 19 Oct. 2024
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Zimbardo spent the rest of his career promoting his theory that humans are helpless against the evil that lies in wait within us to be triggered by circumstance.Judy Berman, TIME, 29 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Four people were struck, including one person who was left paralyzed, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 15 Nov. 2024
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Kenosha made national headlines in August 2020 after a white police officer shot a Black man during a domestic disturbance, leaving him paralyzed.Alexx Altman-Devilbiss, Baltimore Sun, 9 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Capasa noted that a negative third quarter impacted by weak internal demand, the slowdown of purchases from Chinese customers and overall geopolitical instability kept worsening the cautious scenario already registered in the first half of the year.Sandra Salibian, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024
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Scene-to-scene continuity is typically weak and telling.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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When their citizens rose up to object to a government that cared more about Iran’s wishes than their own, the states were too hollow and incompetent to crush the uprising.Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Dec. 2024
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Williams was offered reassurance, primarily by Poles, that all that failure was a thing of the past, missteps made by previous incompetent regimes.Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 30 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near high and dry
Cite this Entry
“High and dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high%20and%20dry. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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