Impasse

//ˈæmpɑːs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A road with no exit; a cul-de-sac.
  2. 2
    a street with only one way in or out wordnet
  3. 3
    A deadlock or stalemate situation in which no progress can be made. figuratively

    "“It seems to me the thing's an impasse. French expression,” I explained, “meaning that we're stymied good and proper with no hope of finding a formula.”"

  4. 4
    a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
blind alleydeadlockaporiaaporiabarbarrier

Example

More examples

"It is important that a lawyer should leave no stone unturned even on minor points and harp on the same subject to achieve a break through in an impasse."

Etymology

Borrowed from French impasse.

Related phrases

cul de sac

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.