powerlessadj.n.
/ˈpaʊələs/, U.S. /ˈpaʊ(ə)rləs/ A. adj.
Without power, strength, or ability; wholly unable to act, influence, etc.; helpless, impotent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [adjective] > powerless or helpless
mightlessOE
powerlessc1425
impotent1444
mean1525
unpuissant1568
moyenless1599
aidless1608
impuissant1629
paralytic1642
adynamous1656
impotentiala1657
enervous1677
numb1802
fucked1949
dickless1957
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 2991 (MED) Astonyd, euerychon Sat in silence, stille as any stoon, Powerles her hertis to reswme.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Powerles or lackynge power, impos, impotens.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. vi. sig. F3v His powrelesse arme benumbd with secret feare. View more context for this quotation
a1628 J. Preston Serm. before His Majestie (1630) 44 As that which hath sinewes and efficatiousnesse in it [differs] from that which is..powerlesse.
1705 tr. D. Bouhours Art of Crit. ii. 90 They represent to her that she is powerless; that her Husband is inconstant; that every thing forsakes and leaves her.
1765 tr. A. Goudar Chinese Spy I. lxix. 244 He had the liberty of complaining to his daughter, of being the powerless father-in-law to the most powerful King in the world.
1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 156 Whose strong effects are such As he must bear, being powerless to redress. View more context for this quotation
1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 407 Human sense of right is powerless, when there is not the love of God's law.
1908 E. M. Forster Room with View i. 7 Miss Bartlett, though skilled in the delicacies of conversation, was powerless in the presence of brutality.
1988 G. Boddy K. Mansfield i. 73 A blind irrational hatred she felt powerless to control.
B. n.
With the and plural agreement. Powerless or helpless people as a class.
ΚΠ
1656 Duchess of Newcastle Natures Pictures viii. 223 None but base or cruel Tyrants will lay unreasonable Commands, or require wicked Demands to the powerlesse, or vertuous.
1816 S. T. Coleridge Christabel et al. 62 Thirst of revenge, the powerless will Still baffled, and yet burning still.
1895 W. B. Yeats Wanderings Usheen ii. in Poems 36 In what land do the powerless turn the beak Of ravening Sorrow, or the hand of Wrath?
1968 A. K. Armah Beautyful Ones are not yet Born xii. 178 The man..was content to note again how unwilling the powerless became when there was a call for them to resent the powerful.
2000 Guardian (Dar es Salaam) 27 Mar. 8/2 Acts of intimidation by top executives usually have a spinning effect that goes down the ladder of authority until it reaches the powerless on the ground.
Derivatives
ˈpowerlessly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adverb] > ineffectively > without force or cogency
unmightilyc1443
powerlessly1801
1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. ix. 171 On the sympathizing wax The unadmitted flames play powerlessly.
1823 Examiner 89/1 The doting Scrivener is not powerlessly conceived.
1985 New Yorker 26 Aug. 58/3 We're suddenly free, powerlessly alone in the sky.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.c1425