Word · Frequency #13692
impotent
无力的；虚弱的；无效的
lacking power or ability; ineffective
- 1.
Lacking physical strength or vigor; weak
缺乏体力或精力的；虚弱的。
- 2.
Lacking in power, as to act effectively; helpless
缺乏行动能力的；无能为力的。
- 3.
Incapable of sexual intercourse, often because of an inability to achieve or sustain an erection, having impotentia coeundi.
无法进行性交的,常因无法勃起或维持勃起,即阳痿。
- 4.
Sterile
不育的。
阳痿的；缺乏体力或精力的；虚弱的。；缺乏行动能力的；无能为力的。；无法进行性交的,常因无法勃起或维持勃起,即阳痿。；不育的。
In use
When the car broke down on the highway, Sam felt completely impotent because he had no phone signal.
The manager's warning sounded like an impotent threat, because everyone knew he could not fire them.
She was impotent to persuade her parents to let her study abroad, so she finally gave up.
be impotent
直接用做表语，表示状态。
The government was impotent in the face of the crisis.
政府在危机面前无能为力。
be impotent to do sth
接不定式，表示缺乏做某事的能力。
He felt impotent to change the situation.
他感到无力改变局面。
be impotent against sth
接against，表示对某事物无效。
Connections
Collocations
- feel impotent
- 感到无能为力
- I felt impotent when I could not help my family.当无法帮助家人时，我感到无能为力。
- impotent rage
- 无力的愤怒；愤懑
- He pounded the table in impotent rage.他气得直捶桌子，却又无能为力。
- politically impotent
- 政治上无力的
- After the defeat, the party was politically impotent.失败之后，该党在政治上已无能为力。
- render sb/sth impotent
- 使……无能为力；使……失去效力
- The scandal rendered the government impotent.丑闻使政府无能为力。
- sexually impotent
- 性无能的；阳痿的
- This treatment helps men who are sexually impotent.这种治疗有助于性无能的男性。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记住 potent（有力的）加否定前缀 im-，impotent 就是“无力的”。联想：im（不）+ potent（有力）→ 无力。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：formal writing、political commentary、literary works impotent 表示“无力/无能为力”时多用于正式或书面语境；日常口语中通常更常说 powerless 或 helpless。
Pronunciation & Spelling
None of these words rhymes exactly with “impotent” /ˈɪmpətənt/. “potent” and “omnipotent” look like they share the same ending, but the stressed vowel and stress pattern are different. “competent” ends in “-tent” like “impotent” but has a different stressed vowel. “important” and “impatient” only share the “im-”/“impo-” spelling; their endings sound quite different. Pay attention to the stress: the target stress is on the first syllable.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.