adjective
-
unable to manage independently
-
made powerless or weak
they were helpless from so much giggling
-
without help
Other Word Forms
- helplessly adverb
- helplessness noun
Etymology
Origin of helpless
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At Nowruz, he and his wife "just looked really down and helpless", says Sina.
From BBC
Gingersnipes was all the way across the garden, staring at him with a look of profoundly helpless concern.
From Literature
"I can't imagine how helpless people must have been," she said between heavy sighs, adding: "I really regret that I didn't knock on a single door."
From Barron's
She adds that Covid left young people feeling helpless as they tried to manage the transition from full-time education to the workplace and missed out on work experience because of lockdown.
From BBC
How long before it got here, and found him lying helpless and sick?
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
