helplessly
Without protection or assistanceWithout protection or assistance.
» Tom watched helplessly as rioters burned down his store.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 sensesWithout protection or assistance.
The fish flopped helplessly in the tiny remaining pool.
Without the ability to help oneself.
The boy rolled on the floor laughing helplessly.
Without the ability to react actively.
The spectators gaped helplessly as the balloon approached the power lines.
- in a helpless manner
Examples
21 sentencesTom watched helplessly as rioters burned down his store.
Tom watched helplessly as his house was washed away.
Tom watched helplessly as soldiers dragged his father out of their house.
Tom shrugged helplessly.
Tom smiled helplessly.
ruТом беспомощно улыбнулся. — marafon
Translations
1 languagesForms
more helplessly, most helplessly| Comparative | more helplessly Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most helplessly |
regular
Synonyms
1 synonyms- in a helpless manner:impotently
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Adverbs of manner — Because it is an -ly adverb
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.