Meanings
plural impasses
- figurativelyA deadlock or stalemate situation in which no progress can be made.
"Young man, this town is at a bit of an impasse. If you have any suggestion that might help, now would be the time to voice it."
2010, Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest2 more examples
“It seems to me the thing's an impasse. French expression,” I explained, “meaning that we're stymied good and proper with no hope of finding a formula.”
1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XIVThe agreement, which falls short of the sprawling changes championed by Democrats, is a significant step toward ending a yearslong impasse over gun reform legislation.
2022 June 12, Emily Cochrane, Annie Karni, “Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal on Gun Safety”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
nouna street with only one way in or out
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Italic*n̥-
- Latinin-
- Frenchim-
- Frenchpasse
- Frenchimpasse
- Englishimpasse
Borrowed from French impasse.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مأزق
- مأزقdeadlock or stalemate situation
Bulgarian безизходица
- безизходица (bezizhodica)deadlock or stalemate situation
Catalan cul-de-sac, atzucac
- cul-de-sacdeadlock or stalemate situation
- atzucacdeadlock or stalemate situation
Chinese Mandarin 死路, 死胡同
- 死路 (sǐlù)road with no exit
- 死胡同 (sǐhútòng)road with no exit
- 僵局 (jiāngjú)deadlock or stalemate situation
Czech slepá ulička, slepá ulice
- slepá uličkaroad with no exit
- slepá uliceroad with no exit
- patová situacedeadlock or stalemate situation
- slepá uličkadeadlock or stalemate situation
Danish blindgyde
- blindgydedeadlock or stalemate situation
Finnish umpikuja, umpikuja
- umpikujaroad with no exit
- umpikujadeadlock or stalemate situation
French impasse, voie sans issue
- impassedeadlock or stalemate situation
- voie sans issuedeadlock or stalemate situation
German Patt, Hängepartie
- Pattdeadlock or stalemate situation
- Hängepartiedeadlock or stalemate situation
- Sackgassedeadlock or stalemate situation
- Pattsituationdeadlock or stalemate situation
- festgefahrene Situationdeadlock or stalemate situation
- ausweglose Situationdeadlock or stalemate situation
Greek αδιέξοδο
- αδιέξοδο (adiéxodo)deadlock or stalemate situation
Hungarian zsákutca, holtpont
- zsákutcadeadlock or stalemate situation
- holtpontdeadlock or stalemate situation
- patthelyzetdeadlock or stalemate situation
Italian vicolo cieco, impasse
- vicolo ciecodeadlock or stalemate situation
- impassedeadlock or stalemate situation
- cul de sacdeadlock or stalemate situation
Japanese 行き詰まり
- 行き詰まり (yukizumari)deadlock or stalemate situation
Māori whakamāraritanga
- whakamāraritangadeadlock or stalemate situation
Polish impas, zastój
- impasdeadlock or stalemate situation
- zastójdeadlock or stalemate situation
- matniadeadlock or stalemate situation
- ślepa uliczkadeadlock or stalemate situation
Portuguese impasse
- impassedeadlock or stalemate situation
Russian тупи́к
- тупи́к (tupík)deadlock or stalemate situation
Spanish impasse, impás
- impasseroad with no exit
- impásroad with no exit
- punto muertodeadlock or stalemate situation
- impassedeadlock or stalemate situation
- impásdeadlock or stalemate situation
- callejón sin salidadeadlock or stalemate situation
Swedish dödläge, död punkt
- dödlägedeadlock or stalemate situation
- död punktdeadlock or stalemate situation
Thai ทางตัน
- ทางตัน (taang-dtan)deadlock or stalemate situation
Vietnamese ngõ cụt
- ngõ cụtdeadlock or stalemate situation
Cite this entry
impasse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impasse
“impasse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impasse. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impasse,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impasse.
Source: impasse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.