Word.ws English Dictionary

helplessness

/ˈhɛlplɪsnɪs/

helplessness noun: the state of being helpless.

Noun

helplessness (usually uncountable, plural helplessnesses)

  1. (usually) The state of being helpless.
    • Near-synonyms: powerlessness, impotence
    • From the most ancient times to the present, in the crudest primitive tribe or the most magnificently ornamented civilization, man has found himself in a state of awed helplessness when confronted by the phenomena of strange illnesses or aberrations.1950, L. Ron Hubbard, Dianetics, New Era Publications, published 1999, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 10
  2. (usually) A feeling of inadequacy or impotence.
    • Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile ; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

helplessness meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

helplessness in Hindi

state of being helpless
असहायता ashāytā, अक्षमता akṣamtā
feeling of inadequacy or impotence
अक्षमता akṣamtā

helplessness in Tamil

உதவியின்மை, ஆதரவின்மை, அனாதரவு, நிராதரவு

helplessness in Marathi

helplessness; the state of having no remedy, recourse, or alternative
निरुपाय nirupāy

helplessness in Urdu

عاجزی, بےاختیاری, اضطرار, مجبوری, ناامیدی, افتاد
More languagesFewer languages
helplessness in Telugu
అసహాయత asahāyata
helplessness in Kannada
ನಿಸ್ಸಹಾಯಕತೆ, ನಿರ್ಗತಿಕತೆ, ಅಸಹಾಯಕತೆ, ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಾಗದಿರುವಿಕೆ
helplessness in Punjabi
ਮਜਬੂਰੀ majbūrī

Examples of helplessness in a sentence

  • This is learned helplessness: internalizing that you don’t have control in difficult scenarios.
  • Anxiety is a state of emotional know-nothingness in which the individual succumbs to helplessness.
  • Barry sounded lighter, his spirits lifting slightly from the shell shocking humiliation and helplessness he'd been feeling.

All 18 example sentences with helplessness

Synonyms of helplessness

Forms of helplessness

pluralhelplessnesses

Origin of helplessness

From helpless + -ness.

Words formed from helplessness

Questions about helplessness

What does helplessness mean?
Helplessness means the state of being helpless.
What is helplessness in Hindi?
Helplessness in Hindi is असहायता (ashāytā), अक्षमता (akṣamtā). See Helplessness meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is helplessness?
Helplessness is a noun.
How do you pronounce helplessness?
Helplessness is pronounced /ˈhɛlplɪsnɪs/ (US).
What is the plural of helplessness?
The plural of helplessness is helplessnesses.

Words near helplessness in the dictionary

  1. helpless
  2. helplessdesk
  3. helplessdesks
  4. helplesse
  5. helplessly
  6. helplessness
  7. helplessnesses
  8. helpline
  9. helplines
  10. helpliness
  11. helply

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: helplessness (page history and authors); helplessness (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); निरुपाय (Marathi) (page history and authors); helplessness (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); అసహాయత (Telugu) (page history and authors); helplessness (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਮਜਬੂਰੀ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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