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impotent

American  
[im-puh-tuhnt] / ˈɪm pə tənt /

adjective

  1. not potent; lacking power or ability.

    Synonyms:
    helpless, powerless

  2. utterly unable (to do something).

    Synonyms:
    helpless, powerless

  3. without force or effectiveness.

    Synonyms:
    weak, feeble, ineffective, ineffectual

  4. lacking bodily strength or physically helpless.

  5. (of a male) unable to attain or sustain a penile erection.

  6. (especially of a male) sterile.

  7. Obsolete. without restraint.

noun

  1. an impotent person.

    therapy for sexual impotents.
impotent British  
/ ˈɪmpətənt /

adjective

  1. (when postpositive, often takes an infinitive) lacking sufficient strength; powerless

  2. (esp of males) unable to perform sexual intercourse See erectile impotence

  3. obsolete lacking self-control; unrestrained

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • impotence noun
  • impotently adverb

Etymology

Origin of impotent

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin impotent-, stem of impotēns “without power over oneself or others”; equivalent to im- 2 + potent 1

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.