help ‧ less /ˈhelpləs/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ help , ↑ helper , ↑ helpfulness ≠ ↑ unhelpfulness , ↑ helping , ↑ helplessness ; adverb : ↑ helpfully ≠ ↑ unhelpfully , ↑ helplessly ; adjective : ↑ helpful ≠ ↑ unhelpful , ↑ helpless ; verb : ↑ help ]
1 . unable to look after yourself or to do anything to help yourself:
He began to feel depressed and helpless.
a vicious attack on a helpless victim
Newman threw out a hand in a helpless gesture.
2 . unable to control a strong feeling that you have
helpless with
He was near to death, and I was helpless with fear.
helpless laughter/rage/tears etc
We both collapsed into helpless giggles.
—helplessly adverb
—helplessness noun [uncountable]