擋不住的處境
兩個意思共用同一張畫面，差別只在「擋不住的東西」是外面的世界，還是自己身體裡的反應。
unable to help yourself · adjective · C1
Unable to take care of yourself or do anything to help yourself, so you need someone else to help or protect you.
無助
核心畫面
A way to picture it: something is happening to you and you have nothing to stop it with. Not just "nobody came to help" — you yourself have no power over it either.
事情正在你身上發生，而你手上沒有任何可以擋住它的東西。字面就是 help + -less——「沒有幫助」，但重點不只…更多收起
事情正在你身上發生，而你手上沒有任何可以擋住它的東西。字面就是 help + -less——「沒有幫助」，但重點不只是沒人來救，而是你自己也使不上力。像嬰兒躺在那裡、像被浪捲住的人：不是不想動，是動了也沒用。From the word’s history
From Old English helplēas, simply help + -less. The word has never changed shape or meaning: lacking the power to change what is happening.
古英語 helplēas，就是 help（幫助）+ -less（沒有）。這個字從頭到尾沒變過形狀，也沒變過意思：缺少能改變情況的力量。荷蘭語 hulpeloos、德語 hilflos 是同一套組裝方式。
Wiktionary: Middle English helples < Old English *helplēas < Proto-Germanic *helpōlausaz, per the entry's attested origin
One branch
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
helplessadj/ˈhɛlplɪs/
- 1
Unable to defend oneself.
- Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms You know you really love a woman
- Rana Thanoptis: Are we good? Can I go? Shepard: You conducted brutal experiments on helpless test subjects. You helped Saren. You don't get to live.
- 2
Lacking help; powerless.
- A gaoler struck him, pushing him back in place in the hopeless, helpless line of prisoners.
- 3
Unable to act without help; needing help; feeble.
- 4
Uncontrollable.
- a helpless urge
- 5
obsoleteFrom which there is no possibility of being saved.
- For, while they fly that gulf's devouring jawes, They on the rock are rent and sunck in helplesse wawes.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。