Helpless

How to spell helpless

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce helpless

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does helpless mean?

1. adjectiveUnable to act, defend, or look after oneself; powerless to change a situation.

Helpless in a sentence

• The stranded driver felt completely helpless as the snow kept falling.

• A newborn baby is entirely helpless and depends on its parents for everything.

Where does helpless come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word is built from two thoroughly native English elements. The first is 'help', from the Old English verb helpan, meaning 'to assist or aid', a word shared across the Germanic languages and related to the German helfen. The second is the suffix '-less', from the Old English leas, which meant 'free from', 'devoid of', or 'lacking'; the same suffix sits inside everyday words such as 'careless' and 'homeless'. Put together, 'helpless' literally describes someone or something that is 'without help', and by extension unable to help itself or unable to be helped. The form was in use by the late Middle Ages and has kept a steady spelling, with the only minor trap being the single 'l' in '-less' rather than a doubled one.

How the word is built

• help (Old English helpan, to aid)
• -less (without, lacking)