HELPLESSNESS • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Helplessness

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/hˈɛlpləsnəs/ Listen

Helplessness

noun

Powerlessness revealed by an inability to act. Synonyms: impuissance, weakness.

The state of needing help from something.

A feeling of being unable to manage.

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Etymology of 'Helplessness'

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"Helplessness" Quotes from Famous Books

... helplessness she thought of trusting herself to one of the women,—all creatures of her husband,—when, passing into her oratory, she found that the count had locked the only door that led to their apartments. This was a horrible discovery. Such precautions taken to isolate her showed a desire to proceed ...

— The Hated Son • Honore de Balzac

... was the unmistakable atmosphere that seemed to enter with him—an atmosphere that from one side produced a sense of great fear and helplessness, and on the other of a kind of security. In an instant Monsignor felt as a wounded child might feel in the presence of a surgeon. And, throughout the interview that ...

— Dawn of All • Robert Hugh Benson

... sad decay, When baffled hope has died away, And life becomes one long distress In pitiable helplessness. Methinks 'tis like a ship on shore, That once defied the Atlantic's roar, And gallantly through gale and storm Hath ventured her majestic form; But now in stranded ruin laid, By winds and dashing seas decayed, Forgetful of her ocean reign, Must ...

— Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 8, January, 1851 • Various

... the wall, but lay huddled at the foot of it. Weariness and hunger had overcome her; she was in a faint, her lips colourless and her eyes closed. Nell dropped beside her, murmuring low, soft consolations. I stood by in awkward helplessness. These matters were beyond ...

— Simon Dale • Anthony Hope

... his helplessness, swore under his breath and fell silent for awhile. Finally his face cleared a little. "Tell you what I'll do," he said. "I won't stop now and let them find me there. I'll drive on down to the point and fix my horses for the ...

— The Huntress • Hulbert Footner

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