having no power to change things or to influence a situation 无能为力的；不起作用的 Without the chairman's support, the committee is impotent. 没有主席的支持，委员会是无能为力的。 She blazed with impotent rage. 她勃然大怒，但于事无补。 They were virtually impotent against the power of the large companies. 他们几乎无力与实力强大的大公司抗衡。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- prove
- …
- completely
- utterly
- virtually
- …
- against
(of a man 男子 unable to achieve an erection and therefore unable to have full sex 性无能的；阳痿的 The operation left him impotent. 手术让他变得性无能。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- become
- leave somebody
- …
- sexually
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin impotent- ‘powerless’, from in- ‘not’ + potent- ‘being powerful, being able’ (from the verb posse).