IMPUISSANCE Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

impuissance

noun

Definition of impuissance

as in impotence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of impuissance But all of that will be moot if Washington’s rushing attack is not significantly improved from the impuissance of last season. — Ben Baskin, SI.com, 14 June 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for impuissance

Noun

Italy’s invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 had demonstrated the impotence of the League of Nations, and the Spanish Civil War of 1936-9 was a touchstone cause for the British left.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
In the diaries, Pavese casts his impotence into a kind of worldview.

— Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of impotence

Noun

Could Kleist’s conjecture provide a key to their seeming vacancy, their resignation, their helplessness, suggesting that in their benighted condition lies spiritual perfection?

— Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
There are also horrifying incidents of helplessness and despair, as well as touching examples of hope, faith and redemption.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of helplessness

Noun

The study was designed to examine the psychological effects of authority and powerlessness in a prison setting, according to the university.

— Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026
New characters are introduced, many interesting details are offered, yet the narration never loses its focus, every sentence adding to the characters’ mounting sense of powerlessness in the face of such a tragic death.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of powerlessness

Noun

Indeed, even after modern jeans were invented in the late 19th century, denim continued to be used to make such apparel as work jackets, prison uniforms, naval fatigues, and jumpsuits.

— Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
But many live with fatigue, weakness, brain fog and other symptoms for months or years before a deficiency is caught.

— Amanda Schupak, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of fatigue

Noun

Stranger by the Lake is a bookend of sorts to La Piscine, as both films seem to condemn their characters, and by extension, the counterculture surrounding them, to a lassitude incapable of any moral authority.

— Erik Morse, Vogue, 26 June 2025
The result of this lassitude is that cars still rule the streets.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 18 Apr. 2025

Definition of lassitude

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impuissance

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Style

“Impuissance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impuissance. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of impuissance

noun

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