Definition of "helpless" []

• Unable to help oneself; powerless or incompetent. (adjective)
• Lacking support or protection: They were left helpless in the storm. (adjective)
• Impossible to control; involuntary: helpless laughter. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "As unexpressed, he feels it in what we called a helpless and oppressed way; as expressed, he feels in a way from which this sense of oppression has vanished."
• "If we love the creatures of earth, who are so gaily irresponsible, so full of zest, we shall share with them the large-hearted merriment of comradeship, and find that the blessing of the helpless is the key to unlock the world."
• "Shall we cease to teach our children that of all covetousness, that which would spoil the helpless is the most revolting?"