powerless

Etymology

From Middle English pouerles, powerles, equivalent to power + -less.

adj

1. Lacking sufficient power or strength.
   I admit that I am powerless over my hatred towards white people in ways that I am unable to recognize fully, both at this time and in the past.
   It is said that his right arm had grown powerless from having been raised so often over the heads of those whom he baptized. 1914, James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
2. Lacking legal authority.
   The traffic warden was powerless to stop me driving away.
3. Without electricity or electrical power.
   During the storm, the entire neighborhood was left powerless for several hours