helpless

Other forms of helpless

comparative

helplesser·

superlative

helplessest·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about helpless

What does helpless mean?

helpless means "lacking in or deprived of strength or power". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in helpless?

helpless has 2 syllables: hel-pless. The stress falls on "hel". In IPA it is /ˈhɛlpləs/.

What is another word for helpless?

Close synonyms include incapacitated, lost. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is helpless a common word?

helpless is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.