powerlessness
noun
powerlessness is spelled P-O-W-E-R-L-E-S-S-N-E-S-S: 13 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, powerlessness means “The state or character of being powerless; absence or lack of power” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of powerlessness is powerlessnesses.
How many letters and syllables are in powerlessness?
| Letters | 13: P-O-W-E-R-L-E-S-S-N-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,129th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is powerlessness?
Powerlessness appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce powerlessness?
Powerlessness has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of powerlessness
- powerlessnesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does powerlessness mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state or character of being powerless; absence or lack of power.
Near-synonym: helplessness
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Powerlessness in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense The state or character of being powerless:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | impuissance |
| German | Machtlosigkeit |
| Spanish | impotencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does powerlessness come from?
From powerless + -ness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).