powerless
adjUS /ˈpaʊɚləs/ · UK /ˈpaʊələs/
Etymology From Middle English pouerles, powerles, equivalent to power + -less.
1
Lacking sufficient power or strength.
- In Sweden, as we saw, the mistletoe which is gathered on Midsummer Eve is attached to the ceiling of the house, the horse's stall or the cow's crib, in the belief that this renders the Troll powerless to injure man and beast.1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 362:
- “Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate.”1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196:
4 more examples
- It is said that his right arm had grown powerless from having been raised so often over the heads of those whom he baptized.1914, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man:
- One thing is clear: after the first accident had occurred, the enginemen on the down express were powerless to avoid the second collision.1952 December, “The Harrow Accident”, in Railway Magazine, page 789:
- Tilling my own grave to keep me level Jam another dragon down the hole Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren One that pushes me along and leaves me so Desperate and ravenous I'm so weak and powerless Over you2003, “Weak and Powerless”, performed by A Perfect Circle:
- Frank desperately wanted to help. To do something. Anything. But he was powerless to stop what was about to happen.2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
2
Lacking legal authority.
- The traffic warden was powerless to stop me driving away.
3
Without electricity or electrical power.
- During the storm, the entire neighborhood was left powerless for several hours
- Synonyms
- mightless, strengthless, weak, vulnerable, impotent
- Derived terms
- powerlessly, powerlessness, superpowerless