1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
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
That timeline is where the two rivals find themselves at an impasse.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
The California Department of Human Resources filed an unfair practice charge against the union, arguing that bargaining had not reached an impasse when those workers went on strike.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 21 May 2025
The Republican president is banking on the idea that his force of personality and personal history with Putin will be enough to break any impasse over a pause in the fighting.
—Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025
Emerging signs of hardship in both countries have ratcheted up pressure on President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, to strike a deal to break the impasse.
—Daisuke Wakabayashi, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
The California Department of Human Resources filed an unfair practice charge against the union, arguing that bargaining had not reached an impasse when those workers went on strike.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 21 May 2025
The Republican president is banking on the idea that his force of personality and personal history with Putin will be enough to break any impasse over a pause in the fighting.
—Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025
Emerging signs of hardship in both countries have ratcheted up pressure on President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, to strike a deal to break the impasse.
—Daisuke Wakabayashi, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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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
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