powerlessness

The state or character of being powerless; absence or lack of power.

Noun

  1. The state or character of being powerless; absence or lack of power.
    • Near-synonym: helplessness
    • In July 1717, a commission established by Orléans to adjudicate the issue had emphatically denied the successoral claims of the two brothers, and the Regent declared himself in a state of ‘happy powerlessness to...

    Synonyms: impotence helplessness

    Antonyms: power powerfulness

    Coordinate Terms: weakness

Origin

Etymology tree English powerless Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English powerlessness From powerless + -ness.

Forms

powerlessnesses

Related

helplessness