powerless

English

Alternative forms

• powerlesse (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English pouerles, powerles, equivalent to power +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpaʊɚləs/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpaʊələs/
• Hyphenation: pow‧er‧less

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

powerless (comparative more powerless, superlative most powerless)

1. Lacking sufficient power or strength.

   I admit that I am powerless over my hatred towards white people in ways that I am unable to recognize fully, both at this time and in the past.

   • 1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 362:

     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.

     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:

     “Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate.”

   • 1914, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man:

     It is said that his right arm had grown powerless from having been raised so often over the heads of those whom he baptized.

   • 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

     Frank desperately wanted to help. To do something. Anything. But he was powerless to stop what was about to happen.

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

Antonyms

• powerful
• strong

Derived terms

• powerlessly
• powerlessness
• superpowerless

Translations

lacking sufficient power or strength

• Arabic: ضَعِيف (ḍaʕīf), عَاجِز (ʕājiz)
• Belarusian: бяссі́льны (bjassílʹny), немо́цный (njemócnyj), бездапамо́жны (bjezdapamóžny), бяспо́мачны (bjaspómačny)
• Bulgarian: безси́лен (bg) (bezsílen), не́мощен (bg) (némošten), безпо́мощен (bg) (bezpómošten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無力的／无力的 (zh) (wúlì de)

• Czech: bezmocný (cs)
• Dutch: machteloos (nl)
• Esperanto: senpova
• Finnish: voimaton (fi), heikko (fi)
• French: impuissant (fr)
• Georgian: უძლური (uʒluri)
• German: kraftlos (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀδύνατος (adúnatos)

• Hungarian: erőtlen (hu), gyenge (hu), tehetetlen (hu)
• Interlingua: impotente
• Italian: impotente (it)
• Japanese: 弱い (ja) (よわ​い, yowai), 脆い (ja) (もろ​い, moroi), 無力な (ja) (むりょくな, muryoku na)
• Korean: 무력하다 (ko) (muryeokhada)
• Latin: nequiens, impotens
• Macedonian: немоќен (nemoḱen)
• Manx: neuphooaral
• Maori: hangenge, mīere (mi), rōrā, kahakore, mohemohe, ngoikore, paraheahea
• Norwegian: maktesløs
• Polish: bezsilny (pl)
• Portuguese: impotente
• Russian: бесси́льный (ru) (bessílʹnyj), беспо́мощный (ru) (bespómoščnyj), не́мощный (ru) (némoščnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: не̏моћан, обеснажен, бе̏спомоћан

  Roman: nȅmoćan, obesnažen, bȅspomoćan

• Slovak: bezmocný
• Slovene: nemočen
• Spanish: impotente (es)
• Tocharian B: avaṣi
• Ukrainian: безси́лий (uk) (bezsýlyj), не́мічний (némičnyj), безпо́мічний (uk) (bezpómičnyj)

lacking legal authority

• Belarusian: бязула́дны (bjazuládny), неправамо́цны (njepravamócny)
• Bulgarian: невали́ден (bg) (nevalíden)
• Dutch: machteloos (nl)
• Finnish: voimaton (fi)
• Georgian: უძალაუფლებო (uʒalauplebo)
• German: machtlos (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀκρατής (akratḗs)

• Hungarian: tehetetlen (hu)
• Latin: nequiens, impotens
• Maori: manakore
• Norwegian: maktesløs
• Russian: безвла́стный (ru) (bezvlástnyj), неправомо́чный (ru) (nepravomóčnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: не̏правомоћан

  Roman: nȅpravomoćan

• Ukrainian: безвла́дний (uk) (bezvládnyj), неправочи́нний (nepravočýnnyj), неправоси́льний (nepravosýlʹnyj)