Powerless means having no power to change anything. Feel powerless, powerless to stop it, utterly powerless.
The construction is powerless to do something. It describes a position rather than a weakness — powerless people may be perfectly capable and simply have no authority. It is also literal for machines and buildings with no electricity, though without power is the commoner phrase. Note powerlessness; and that feeling powerless and being powerless are different things, which is the whole subject of a great deal of psychology.
1adjectivepowerlessHaving no power to change anything.
“The villagers were powerless to stop the flood from destroying their homes.”
powerless is a state of having no power.
The word is power plus -less. Power comes through Old French from Latin posse, to be able — the same verb as in possible and potent, so being powerless is being unable in the plainest sense.
Middle English
pouerles
English, today
powerless
From Middle English pouerles, powerles, equivalent to power + -less.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA