impasse

Borrowed from French impasse.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæmpɑːs/^[1][2], /æmˈpɑːs/^[2], /ˈɪmpɑːs/^[2], /ɪmˈpɑːs/^[2]

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɪmpæs/^[3], /ɪmˈpæs/^[3]
• Hyphenation: im‧passe

impasse (plural impasses)

1. A road with no exit; a cul-de-sac. [from 1851]
2. (figurative) A deadlock or stalemate situation in which no progress can be made.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XIV:

     “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.”

   • 2010, Clare Vanderpool, Moon Over Manifest:

     "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."

   • 2022 June 12, Emily Cochrane, Annie Karni, “Senators Reach Bipartisan Deal on Gun Safety”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     The agreement, which falls short of the sprawling changes championed by Democrats, is a significant step toward ending a yearslong impasse over gun reform legislation.

• “impasse”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• pessima, sempais

From French impasse.

• IPA^(key): /ˌɪmˈpɑsə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: im‧pas‧se
• Rhymes: -ɑsə

impasse f (plural impasses or impassen, no diminutive)

1. impasse (situation in which no progress can be made)

   De onderhandelingen verkeerden al maanden in een impasse.

   Negotiations had been at an impasse for months.

From im- +‎ passe.

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pas/ ~ /ɛ̃.pɑs/

• Audio (France):

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• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

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• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

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• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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impasse f (plural impasses)

1. stalemate, impasse (situation in which no progress can be made; not used in the chess sense of stalemate)
2. dead-end; cul-de-sac (street)

• faire l'impasse

• → English: impasse
• → German: Impasse
• → Italian: impasse
• → Dutch: impasse
• → Polish: impas
• → Portuguese: impasse
• → Spanish: impasse

• “impasse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
• “impasse”, in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse
• “impasse” in Dico en ligne Le Robert.

impasse

1. (reintegrationist norm) first/third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of impar

Unadapted borrowing from French impasse.

• IPA^(key): /emˈpas/^[1]
• Rhymes: -as

impasse f (invariable)

1. impasse, dead-end, deadlock, stalemate

   Synonym: stallo

• impasse in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• Messapi, assempi, pessima

• Hyphenation: im‧pas‧se

Borrowed from French impasse.

impasse m (plural impasses)

1. impasse (a situation in which no progress can be made)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

impasse

1. first/third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of impar

• “impasse”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• impás

Unadapted borrowing from French impasse.

• IPA^(key): /imˈpas/ [ĩmˈpas]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: im‧pas‧se

impasse m (plural impasses)

1. impasse

• According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

• “impasse”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025