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helpless

To be helpless is to have no ability to take care of or protect yourself from harm. A newborn baby is helpless, and needs parents to care for her.

If you're helpless, you're dependent on other people to assist or care for you. Breaking both your legs will leave you helpless, and even being in an unfamiliar city can make you feel helpless as you wander around looking for your hotel late at night. You can also use helpless to mean "irresistible" or "uncontrollable," especially when someone bursts out laughing: "They broke into helpless laughter during his speech."

Definitions of helpless
  1. adjective
    unable to function; without help
    synonyms: lost
    hopeless
    without hope because there seems to be no possibility of comfort or success
  2. adjective
    unable to manage independently
    “as helpless as a baby”
    Synonyms:
    dependent
    relying on or requiring a person or thing for support, supply, or what is needed
  3. adjective
    lacking in or deprived of strength or power
    “lying ill and helpless
    helpless with laughter”
    synonyms: incapacitated
    powerless
    lacking power
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘helpless'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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