powerless
adjective
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Definition of powerless
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Synonyms & Antonyms for powerless
Synonyms
hamstrung, handcuffed, helpless, high and dry, hog-tied, impotent, impuissant, paralyzed, weak
Antonyms
mighty, potent, powerful, puissant, strong
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Examples of powerless in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The story unfolds as a kind of tragic horror melodrama (again, Frankenstein-like), with Jessica powerless to prevent her mother from destroying herself and others. — Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, "Since season 1, Jessica Jones has struggled to mix horror with superheroes," 18 June 2019 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a longtime supporter of the Syrian opposition, has seemed powerless to blunt the offensive, despite his increasingly strong partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin. — Washington Post, "Turkish military convoy hit by airstrike in northern Syria," 21 Aug. 2019 But the supervisors also risked looking powerless if the judge had ruled in the sheriff’s favor. — Los Angeles Times, "Newsletter: Today: When police can — and can’t — kill," 20 Aug. 2019 For its part, Save the Christians is urging Washington to appoint a Special Envoy to Nigeria to help those who deem their situation powerless. — Fox News, "Nigeria’s Christian community slowly being erased as militants step up vicious killings, kidnappings," 19 June 2019 Turns out that navigating a powerless balloon through the stratosphere is like using a road network where streets change directions and speed limits, or disappear altogether. — Alex Davies, WIRED, "Self-Parking Garages, Robovans, and More Car News This Week," 28 July 2019 Russian officials are watching closely…and might be feeling a little powerless. — Ian Bremmer, Time, "Sweeping Political Change in Ukraine Heralds Hope for the Future," 25 July 2019 Some numbers: The storms knocked out power to 3,000 of the Pepco utility’s customers while 4,700 customers in Northern Virginia had their power knocked out by the weekend storms with some of them still powerless on Monday. — Patrick May, The Mercury News, "Hey Bay Area residents, be glad you’re not in these places this week," 22 July 2019 Svitolina, seeded eighth here at Wimbledon and playing in her first grand slam semifinal, put up more of a fight in the second set but was powerless against the Romanian's thundering ground strokes. — Matias Grez, CNN, "Serena Williams to face Simona Halep in Wimbledon final," 11 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'powerless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for powerless
powerless
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of powerless
See the full definition for powerless in the English Language Learners Dictionary
powerless
adjective
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Kids Definition of powerless
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