helpless

English

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”), Swedish hjälplös (“helpless”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhɛlplɪs/
Audio (US) (file)
Hyphenation: help‧less

Adjective

helpless (comparative more helpless, superlative most helpless)

Unable to defend oneself.
- 1995, Bryan Adams, Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?
  Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms
  You know you really love a woman
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, OCLC 246633669, PC, scene: FTL Drive Codex entry:
  Rana Thanoptis: Are we good? Can I go?
  Shepard: You conducted brutal experiments on helpless test subjects. You helped Saren. You don't get to live.
Lacking help; powerless.
- 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 41:
  A gaoler struck him, pushing him back in place in the hopeless, helpless line of prisoners.
Unable to act without help; needing help; feeble.
Uncontrollable.
a helpless urge
(obsolete) From which there is no possibility of being saved.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938:
  For, while they fly that gulf's devouring jawes,
  They on the rock are rent and sunck in helplesse wawes.

Derived terms

helplessly
helplessness

Translations

unable to defend oneself — See also translations at defenseless

Arabic: عَاجِز‎ (ʿājiz)
Belarusian: бездапамо́жны (bjezdapamóžny), бяспо́мачны (bjaspómačny), бяссі́льны (bjassílʹny)
Bengali: লাচার (lacar), নাচার (bn) (nacar), অক্ষম (bn) (ôkkhôm)
Bulgarian: безпо́мощен (bg) (bezpómošten), безси́лен (bg) (bezsílen)
Catalan: indefens
Chinese:
Mandarin: 無助的／无助的 (zh) (wúzhù), 無力的／无力的 (zh) (wúlì de)
Czech: bezmocný (cs), bezradný
Danish: hjælpeløs (da)
Dutch: hulpeloos (nl)
Esperanto: senhelpa
Finnish: avuton (fi)
French: sans défense
Georgian: უმწეო (umc̣eo)
German: hilflos (de)
Hindi: लाचार (hi) (lācār), बेबस (hi) (bebas), विवश (hi) (vivaś)
Hungarian: kiszolgáltatott (hu), védtelen (hu)
Ido: senhelpa
Igbo: enweghị enyemaka
Irish: fágtha
Italian: indifeso (it)
Japanese: 無力な (ja) (むりょくな, muryoku na)
Khmer: ដែលឥតអនុភាព (dael ət a’nu’pʰiep)
Korean: 무력하다 (ko) (muryeokhada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ناچار‎ (ku) (naçar), بێ دەسەڵات‎ (bê desellat)
Latin: inops
Macedonian: беспомошен (bespomošen), немоќен (nemoḱen)
Malagasy: afa-manoatra
Maltese: hilflose
Maori: paraheahea
Norwegian:
Bokmål: hjelpeløs
Plautdietsch: halplooss
Polish: bezradny (pl), bezsilny (pl), bezbronny (pl)
Portuguese: indefeso (pt)
Romanian: neajutorat (ro)
Russian: беспо́мощный (ru) (bespómoščnyj), бесси́льный (ru) (bessílʹnyj)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бе̏спомоћан
Roman: bȅspomoćan
Slovak: bezmocný, bezradný
Slovene: nemočni
Spanish: indefenso (es)
Swedish: hjälplös (sv)
Turkish: âciz (tr)
Ukrainian: безпо́мічний (uk) (bezpómičnyj), безси́лий (uk) (bezsýlyj)
Urdu: بے بس‎ (be bas), مَجبُور‎ (majbūr)
West Frisian: helpleas

lacking help; powerless

Hungarian: tehetetlen (hu)

unable to act without help; needing help; feeble

Chinese:
Mandarin: 無助的／无助的 (zh) (wúzhù)
Finnish: avuton (fi)
French: désemparé (fr)
Hungarian: magatehetetlen (hu), gyámoltalan (hu)
Japanese: 無力な (ja) (むりょくな, muryoku na)
Korean: 무력하다 (ko) (muryeokhada)
Maori: mohemohe, paraheahea
Russian: беспо́мощный (ru) (bespómoščnyj), не́мощный (ru) (némoščnyj)
Spanish: incapaz (es)
Ukrainian: безпора́дний (uk) (bezporádnyj), безпо́мічний (uk) (bezpómičnyj), безси́лий (uk) (bezsýlyj)

uncontrollable — see uncontrollable