/ ˈɪmpətənt; NAmE / adjective
1.
having no power to change things or to influence a situation
SYN powerless :
Without the chairman's support, the committee is impotent.
She blazed with impotent rage.
2.
( of a man ) unable to achieve an erection and therefore unable to have full sex
► im·po·tence / ˈɪmpətəns; NAmE / noun [ U ]:
a feeling of impotence in the face of an apparently insoluble problem
male impotence
► im·po·tent·ly adverb
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : via Old French from Latin impotent- powerless, from in- not + potent- being powerful, being able (from the verb posse ).