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  1. helpless love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Unable to help oneself; powerless or incompetent.
  2. adj. Lacking support or protection: They were left helpless in the storm.
  3. adj. Impossible to control; involuntary: helpless laughter.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Incapable of acting without assistance; needing help; incapable of self-support or self-defense; feeble; dependent: as, a helpless babe; a helpless, shiftless fellow.
  2. Incapable of helping; affording no help; unaiding.
  3. Beyond help; irremediable.
  4. Unsupplied; destitute.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Unable to defend oneself or to act without help.
  2. adj. Uncontrollable.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Destitute of help or strength; unable to help or defend one's self; needing help; feeble; weak.
  2. adj. Beyond help; irremediable.
  3. adj. obsolete Bringing no help; unaiding.
  4. adj. rare Unsupplied; destitute; -- with of.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. unable to manage independently
  2. adj. unable to function; without help
  3. adj. lacking in or deprived of strength or power

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English helples, from Old English *helplēas ("helpless"), equivalent to help +‎ -less. Compare Dutch hulpeloos ("helpless"), German hilflos ("helpless"), Swedish hjälplös ("helpless"). (Wiktionary)

Examples

  • “As unexpressed, he feels it in what we called a helpless and oppressed way; as expressed, he feels in a way from which this sense of oppression has vanished.”

    Collingwood's Aesthetics

  • “If we love the creatures of earth, who are so gaily irresponsible, so full of zest, we shall share with them the large-hearted merriment of comradeship, and find that the blessing of the helpless is the key to unlock the world.”

    The Spring of Joy: A Little Book of Healing

  • “Shall we cease to teach our children that of all covetousness, that which would spoil the helpless is the most revolting?”

    Rural Hours

  • “He seemed a forgetful kind of gentleman, and his hands were what I call helpless hands, sir!”

    My Novel — Volume 06

  • “He was removed to what they call the helpless ward, where he was well nursed and attended.”

    Poor Jack

  • “I say that as a graduate of the University of Virginia who collapses in helpless laughter whenever I hear someone use the term “Virginia gentleman”.”

    Matthew Yglesias » A New First

  • “Attempts at speech result in helpless coughing fits.”

    missive from the sickbed

  • “When they saw what had happened to the waitress, they stared in helpless horror, horrified by the horrific horrendousness of the situation.”

    Sanguine Pizza

  • “Still, sympathy for the frightened and helpless is no reason to avoid the plain truth: We're in danger of seeing the electoral process hijacked by a massive coalition of the greedy, the cynical and the stupid - aided and abetted by the fearful, the angry, and the hate-filled.”

    The Huffington Post: Richard (RJ) Eskow: Our Historic Stand Against the Bank Cabal's Coalition of Darkness

  • “Still, sympathy for the frightened and helpless is no reason to avoid the plain truth: We're in danger of seeing the electoral process hijacked by a massive coalition of the greedy, the cynical and the stupid -- aided and abetted by the fearful, the angry, and the hate-filled.”

    The Huffington Post: Richard (RJ) Eskow: Our Historic Stand Against the Bank Cabal's Coalition of Darkness

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‘helpless’ has been looked up 2257 times, added to 14 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 13.