HELPLESSNESS

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does helplessness mean? 

• HELPLESSNESS (noun)
  The noun HELPLESSNESS has 3 senses:

1. powerlessness revealed by an inability to act

2. the state of needing help from something

3. a feeling of being unable to manage

  Familiarity information: HELPLESSNESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HELPLESSNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Powerlessness revealed by an inability to act

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

helplessness; impuissance; weakness

Context example:

in spite of their weakness the group remains active

Hypernyms ("helplessness" is a kind of...):

impotence; impotency; powerlessness (the quality of lacking strength or power; being weak and feeble)

Derivation:

helpless (lacking in or deprived of strength or power)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of needing help from something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("helplessness" is a kind of...):

dependance; dependence; dependency (the state of relying on or being controlled by someone or something else)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A feeling of being unable to manage

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("helplessness" is a kind of...):

depression (sad feelings of gloom and inadequacy)

Derivation:

helpless (unable to manage independently)

helpless (unable to function; without help)

 Context examples 

Despite the pain and helplessness, Spitz struggled madly to keep up.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

So he started out to look for the cave and his mother, feeling at the same time an overwhelming rush of loneliness and helplessness.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I was aware of the demand for action, and, my old helplessness strong upon me, I was waiting for him to take the initiative.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But the wind was wanting; and to complete our helplessness, down came Hunter with the news that Jim Hawkins had slipped into a boat and was gone ashore with the rest.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

He evidently fears discovery or interference, in the state of helplessness in which he must be—confined as he is between dawn and sunset in his wooden box.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He also advised me to be composed; I scorned the insinuation of helplessness and distraction, shook off his hand, and began to walk about again.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Messner made a well-feigned gesture of helplessness. "I really don't know. It is one of those impossible situations against which there can be no provision."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

She had probably alienated love by the helplessness and fretfulness of a fearful temper, or been unreasonable in wanting a larger share than any one among so many could deserve.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

In pediatrics (and some adult care), providing choices of treatment modalities, times of treatment, and other aspects of care within limits to give the patient a feeling of control and decreases feelings of helplessness associated with the treatment or care.

(Choice and Control, NCI Thesaurus)

I trembled from head to foot; I felt a presentiment of who it was and wished to rouse one of the peasants who dwelt in a cottage not far from mine; but I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)