powerlessnessn.
/ˈpaʊələsnəs/, U.S. /ˈpaʊ(ə)rləsnəs/ Helplessness, impotence. (In quot. 1650 probably: an instance of this.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [noun] > utter inability or powerlessness
unmightinessOE
non-powera1387
unpowerc1400
impotencea1420
palsya1450
impossibilityc1450
impotencyc1460
impuissance1483
impotentness1530
powerlessness1650
enervity1656
paralysis1809
nervelessness1857
1650 Plea for Non-Subscribers 41 By his hand, bringing upon a Government..a present quash, and powerlesnesse.
1819 Times 28 July 3/1 The feeble counterpoise of some usurping corporation, the powerlessness of which has frequently been proved.
1833 T. Chalmers On Power, Wisdom, & Goodness of God II. i. vii. 20 The large intermediate spaces..are in fact, peopled with little worlds... In the powerlessness of our existing telescopes, we do not know but it may be so.
1892 B. F. Westcott Gospel of Life 17 Man feels his powerlessness in the face of physical forces.
1932 P. Bowles Let. 29 Dec. in In Touch (1994) 106 I suppose everyone feels more or less the same way: a powerlessness in the face of the fourth dimension.
1991 Ess. in Crit. 41 16 The emphasis on powerlessness and dependence is persistent.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1650