noun
impotence
IHM-puh-tuhns
noun
1
A complete lack of power or ability to act or influence events.
"He felt a deep sense of impotence watching the disaster unfold on the news."
"The committee's impotence became obvious when none of its recommendations were followed."
2
The medical inability to achieve or maintain an erection.
"The medication was found to sometimes cause impotence as a side effect."
How to Use Impotence
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishBeing powerless to act or, in a medical sense, unable to get or keep an erection.
When to use it
The medical sense is the more common everyday usage in modern English; the "powerlessness" sense is more formal or literary.
Word Forms
impotences plural
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Etymology
From Middle French impotence, from Latin impotentia, "lack of power."