impotence
pronunciation
How to pronounce impotence in British English: UK [ˈɪmpətəns]
How to pronounce impotence in American English: US [ˈɪmpətəns]
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- Noun:
- the quality of lacking strength or power; being weak and feeble
- an inability (usually of a male) to copulate
Word Origin
- impotence (n.)
- early 15c., "physical weakness," also "poverty," from Middle French impotence "weakness," from Latin impotentia "lack of control or power," from impotentem (nominative impotens); see impotent. In reference to a want of (male) sexual potency, from c. 1500. The figurative senses of the word in Latin were "violence, fury, unbridled passion." Related: Impotency.
Example
- 1. In this impotence lies the point of the palestinian occupation .
- 2. This can compound the problem and lead to impotence .
- 3. Each new pyongyang provocation only seems to underline the perception of beijing 's impotence .
- 4. Prior to the drug 's entry into china , many chinese men turned to traditional medicine , namely tiger bone , to cure impotence .
- 5. The first leads to impotence . It seems clear which path mr boehner will choose .