Helpless Meaning
/ˈhɛlplɪs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjUnable to defend oneself.
adjLacking help; powerless.
Sentence Examples
The child is helpless in his rage.
How lonely and helpless she must feel left all by herself!
CEFR Practice Quiz
The baby bird was ____ and could not feed itself.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The kitten looked so ____ trapped on the high tree branch, unable to climb back down to the ground.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms
You know you really love a woman"
— 1995, Bryan Adams, Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?:
"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."
— 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: FTL Drive Codex entry:
"A gaoler struck him, pushing him back in place in the hopeless, helpless line of prisoners."
— 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 41:
"For, while they fly that gulf's devouring jawes,
They on the rock are rent and sunck in helplesse wawes."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The baby bird was ____ and could not feed itself.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The kitten looked so ____ trapped on the high tree branch, unable to climb back down to the ground.