| 释义 |
powerless, a.|ˈpaʊəlɪs|
[f. power n.1 + -less.]
Without power or ability; devoid of power; helpless.
1552Huloet, Powerles or lackynge power, impos, impotens. 1596Spenser F.Q. iv. vi. 21 His powrelesse arme, benumbd with secret feare. 1726Pope Odyss. xvi. 87 Powerless to relieve, I must behold it. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 407 Human sense of right is powerless, when there is not the love of God's law.
Hence ˈpowerlessly adv.; ˈpowerlessness.
1823Examiner 89/1 The doting Scrivener is not powerlessly conceived. 1833Chalmers Const. Man i. vii. II. 20 [That] the large intermediate spaces..are in fact, peopled with little worlds... Now, in the powerlessness of our existing telescopes, we do not know but it may be so. 1875H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 535 The powerlessness of the remedy to effect such change. 1892Westcott Gospel of Life 17 Man feels his powerlessness in the face of physical forces. |