noun ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The state or character of being powerless; absence or lack of power. uncountable, usually

   "Near-synonym: helplessness"

2. 2
   the quality of lacking strength or power; being weak and feeble wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

impotencedisabilityhelplessnessimpotenceimpotencyinability

Antonyms

All antonyms

authoritypowerpowerfulness

Example

More examples

"The destiny of Tom and Mary ceaselessly haunted the author, weighed down by his own powerlessness to assume it."

Etymology

From powerless + -ness.

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