impasse

noun

im·​passe ˈim-ˌpas How to pronounce impasse (audio)
im-ˈpas
1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac

Examples of impasse in a Sentence

The players are poised to strike after Thursday's games because they believe, with good reason, that if no agreement is reached by the end of the post-season, the owners will declare an impasse Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits. Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone. Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse. She had reached an impasse in her career.
Recent Examples on the Web House rules say members need 72 hours to review legislation before a vote, and the spending bills to resolve the impasse weren’t released by early Monday evening. Nick Miroff, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024 In 2021, Sinema put together a bipartisan coalition to pass the infrastructure law after direct negotiations with a Republican senator and the Biden White House reached an impasse. Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 To See April 8’s Total Solar Eclipse—And Drops A Home Truth A Psychologist Offers 3 Ways Out Of A ‘Midnight Meltdown’ There are many factors that can contribute to a labor impasse. Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024 Barriers to going on strike Under the Railway Labor Act, even if such an impasse is declared at American or one of the other airlines, a 30-day cooling off period keeps the workers on the job. Chris Isidore, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024 Sometimes, a change of location can also stop a tantrum in its tracks or break through an impasse. Miriam Foley, Parents, 1 Feb. 2024 This impasse has persisted for decades, with spasms of violence — including two intifadas, or Palestinian uprisings, lasting more than a decade in total. Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024 Russian advantages in manpower, materiel, and defense production have grown in the past year, whereas U.S. ammunition deliveries have been throttled and are at risk of being curtailed almost entirely because of an impasse over funding in the U.S. Congress. Dara Massicot, Foreign Affairs, 8 Mar. 2024 Ali said the bloc remains committed to helping Haiti get through its political impasse and obtain money from the international community to pay for the security support mission and address its dire humanitarian needs. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impasse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, from in- + passer to pass

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of impasse was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near impasse

Cite this Entry

“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

impasse

noun
im·​passe ˈim-ˌpas How to pronounce impasse (audio)
im-ˈpas
: a situation from which it seems impossible to escape
especially : deadlock

Legal Definition

impasse

noun
im·​passe ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas How to pronounce impasse (audio)
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position

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