Link Centre Dictionary

helplessness

help·less·ness

US/ˈhɛlplɪsnɪs/ uncommon

noun

1.

powerlessness revealed by an inability to act

  • “in spite of their weakness the group remains highly active”
Synonyms
2.

the state of needing help from something

3.

a feeling of being unable to manage

Origin

From helpless + -ness.

Phrases

  • learned helplessness

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.