1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
Synonyms
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.
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
Israel did not provide an immediate response to the White House's readout of the conversation, but on Wednesday, an Israeli official blamed the impasse in the cease-fire talks on the U.S. decision to allow a U.N. Security Council cease-fire resolution to pass on March 25.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024
But the impasse in Washington over funding for Ukraine, and the potential for change in the White House next year, could give Kyiv some leeway.
—Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
The extraordinary casualties on the Russian side, for example, could lead to mutinies, and if the war seems to be at an impasse for very long, a palace coup could install more accommodating leadership.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
If pushed forward, the move would signal the most significant breakthrough in the month long impasse between the White House and conservative Republicans over assistance to Ukraine.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Amid the impasse, a bipartisan group of senators last March unveiled legislation known as the Restrict Act that would give the Commerce Department more authority to assess and potentially block technology deals involving companies from countries deemed to be foreign adversaries.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
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
Daniel Estrin, NPR, 4 Apr. 2024
But the impasse in Washington over funding for Ukraine, and the potential for change in the White House next year, could give Kyiv some leeway.
—Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024
The extraordinary casualties on the Russian side, for example, could lead to mutinies, and if the war seems to be at an impasse for very long, a palace coup could install more accommodating leadership.
—Branislav L. Slantchev, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2024
If pushed forward, the move would signal the most significant breakthrough in the month long impasse between the White House and conservative Republicans over assistance to Ukraine.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Amid the impasse, a bipartisan group of senators last March unveiled legislation known as the Restrict Act that would give the Commerce Department more authority to assess and potentially block technology deals involving companies from countries deemed to be foreign adversaries.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024
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
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.
Dictionary Entries Near impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
impasse
noun
im·passe
ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas 
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share