August 1, 2011 - Word of the Day: helpless

It's easy to make the word "help" into an adjective. Just add the suffix "less" to "help." A person feels "helpless" if he or she has no control over a situation.

• She feels helpless without her cell phone.
• Ali felt helpless without his wife at home.
• People who don't know a lot of English sometimes feel helpless in English-speaking countries.

You can make this word into a noun by adding yet another suffix, "ness" to make "helplessness."

• Oliver was overcome by a feeling of helplessness after his father died in a car accident.