helpless

Pronunciation: /ˈhɛlplɪs/

The English word “helpless” has 5 meanings listed here.

adjective

Unable to defend oneself.
Lacking help; powerless.
Unable to act without help; needing help; feeble.
Uncontrollable.
From which there is no possibility of being saved.

Etymology

From Middle English helples, from Old English *helplēas (“helpless”) from Proto-Germanic *helpōlausaz, equivalent to help + -less. Compare Dutch hulpeloos (“helpless”), German hilflos (“helpless”), Danish hjælpeløs (“helpless”) and Swedish hjälplös (“helpless”).

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More English words

helping hand
helping profession
helping verb
helpingly
helplessdesk
helplessly
helplessness
helpline

About this dictionary

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.