helpless

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈhɛlplɪs/ See IPA manual

Freq #5008

Meanings

1

adj
Not able to look after yourself or do things without help.

A newborn baby is completely helpless.
2

adj
Not able to defend yourself or change a situation.

I felt helpless as I watched the storm destroy the garden.
3

adj
Impossible to control or stop.

They fell into helpless laughter during the meeting.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not able to look after... incapacitated

Word family

Derived forms helplessdeskhelplessly helplessness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

helpless victim
a person who is unable to defend themselves or prevent the harm done to them

Adjective + noun

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”).

helples Middle English *helplēas Old English *helpōlausaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# helpless

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈhɛlplɪs/
**Frequency rank:** 5008

## Meanings
1. Not able to look after yourself or do things without help.
2. Not able to defend yourself or change a situation.
3. Impossible to control or stop.

## Examples
- A newborn baby is completely helpless.
- I felt helpless as I watched the storm destroy the garden.
- They fell into helpless laughter during the meeting.

## Derived Forms
- helplessdesk
- helplessly
- helplessness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: helples
- Root: *helplēas
- Root: *helpōlausaz

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Helpless comes 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”). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. In current use, the main senses are “Not able to look after yourself or do things without help” and “Not able to defend yourself or change a situation”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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