Impotence

Definitions: Impotence

Impotence

Noun

1. The quality of lacking strength or power; being weak and feeble.

2. An inability (usually of a male) to copulate.

Date "impotence" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Domain	Definitions
Health	The inability to perform sexual intercourse. (references)
Medicine	Lack of power in the male to copulate, i. e. inability to achieve penile erection; the cause may be exposure to organic solvents or other toxic substances. Source: European Union. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Impotence is the inability to maintain an erection of the penis for satisfactory sexual intercourse regardless of the capability of ejaculation.

Penile erection is managed by two different mechanisms. The first one is the reflex erection, which is achieved by directly touching the penile shaft and the second is the psychogenic erection, which is achieved by erotic stimuli. The first one uses the peripheral nerves and the lower parts of the spinal cord, whereas the second one uses the limbic system of the brain. In both conditions an intact neurologic system is required for a successful and complete erection. Stimulation of penile shaft by the nervous system gives rise to the secretion of nitric oxide (NO), which causes the relaxation of smooth muscles of corpora cavernosa (the main erectile tissue of penis), subsequently giving rise to penile erection. Additionally, adequate levels of testosterone (produced by the testes) and an intact pituitary gland are required for the development of a healthy male erectile system. As can be understood from the mechanisms of a normal erection, impotence may develop due to hormonal deficiency, disorders of the neurologic system, lack of adequate penile blood supply or psychological problems.

A few causes of impotence may be iatrogenic (medically caused). Various medications intended to control blood pressure or to modify central nervous system response, may inhibit erection by denying blood supply or by altering nerve activity. Surgical intervention for a number of different conditions may remove anatomical structures necessary to erection, damage nerves, or impair blood supply.

Treatment depends on the cause. Testosterone supplements may be used for cases with hormonal deficiency. However, usually the cause is lack of adequate penile blood supply as a result of age-dependent damage of inner walls of blood vessels. Previously, medical substances were used to be directly injected into the erectile tissue of penile shaft to treat impotence. In some cases refractory to the medical treatment, a penile implant (penile prosthesis) could be advised. After the discovery of orally active agents that increase the efficacy of NO, which dilates the blood vessels of corpora cavernosa, more conservative methods were started to be used.

Sildenafil citrate (Viagra) is an oral agent that blocks specific phosphodiesterases. NO acts on blood vessels by increasing the levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which is required for dilation of the vessels. Phosphodiesterases block this substance and reduce the effect of NO on erectile tissue. By using sildenafil, NO’s effects are increased and a more sustained penile erection can be achieved. Other agents with less side effects and holding promise as an effective oral treatment for penile erectile dysfunction are currently being developed.

Synonyms: Impotence

Synonyms: impotency (n), powerlessness (n). (additional references)

Antonym: power (n). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Absence of Influence	Noun: impotence; powerlessness; inertness; irrelevancy.
Impotence	Noun: impotence; inability, disability; disablement, impuissance, imbecility; incapacity, incapability; inaptitude, ineptitude, incompetence, unproductivity; indocility; invalidity, disqualification; inefficiency, wastefulness.
Insufficiency	Noun: insufficiency; inadequacy, inadequateness; incompetence; (impotence); deficiency; (incompleteness); imperfection; shortcoming; paucity; stint; scantiness; (smallness); none to spare, bare subsistence.
Unproductiveness	Noun: unproductiveness; Adjective: infertility, sterility, infecundity; masturbation; impotence; unprofitableness; (inutility).
Weakness	Noun: weakness; Adjective: debility, atony, relaxation, languor, enervation; impotence; infirmity; effeminacy, feminality; fragility, flaccidity; inactivity.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Impotence

English words defined with "impotence": Agennesis, anit-impotence drug ♦ ED, erectile dysfunction ♦ locomotor ataxia ♦ male erecticle dysfunction ♦ tabes dorsalis ♦ virility drug. (references)

Specialty definitions using "impotence": Impotence, Vasculogenic ♦ Penile Implantation, Penile Prosthesis ♦ Yohimbine. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Impotence" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

Czech (impotence, impotency), French (impotence, impotency, infirmity).

Domain

Usage

Screenplays

Cassandra in Greek legend, you recall, was condemned to know the future but to be disbelieved when she foretold it. Hence the agony of foreknowledge combined with the impotence to do anything about it. (Twelve Monkeys; writing credit: David Webb Peoples)

The enemy's an age -- a nuclear age. It happens to have killed man's faith in his ability to influence what happens to him. And out of this comes a sickness, and out of sickness a frustration, a feeling of impotence, helplessness, weakness. (Seven Days in May; writing credit: Fletcher Knebel; Charles W. Bailey II)

The only side effects are nause, impotence and anal leakage. (Scrubs; writing credit: Gabrielle Allan; Janae Bakken)

A moral victory which compels the enemy to recognize the moral superiority of his opponent and his own impotence was won by the Russians at Borodino. (War and Peace; writing credit: Sergei Bondarchuk; Vasili Solovyov)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
References	The 2002 Official Patient's Sourcebook on Impotence (reference) (more reference examples)

Books	Impotence and Infertility (Atlas of Clinical Urology, V.1 (reference) Impotence and Prostate Solutions (reference) Putting Impotence to Bed: What Every Woman & Man Needs to Know (reference) Sexual Anxiety: A Study of Male Impotence (reference) The Impotence Sourcebook (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	Nova: The Truth About Impotence (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Johann Kaspar Lavater	Airs of importance are the credentials of impotence.
Napoleon Bonaparte	Do you know what amazes me more than anything else? The impotence of force to organize anything.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Also called impotence. (references)
		No incontinence or impotence has been observed. (references)
		Several laboratory tests can help diagnose impotence. (references)
Economic History	Sweden	The Swedish pharmaceutical market is highly competitive, but according to trade sources the following areas should represent opportunities for new entrants in the market: antibiotics, anti-asthmatics, impotence treatment, treatments for Alzheimer, AIDS and cancer. (references)
Human Rights	Malaysia	In its responses to Commission actions, the Government often has underscored the legal impotence of the Commission and accused it of overstepping the boundaries of its authority. (references)
Women	Yemen	A woman has the legal right to divorce; however, she must provide a justification, such as her husband's nonsupport, impotence, or taking of a second wife without her consent. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
Herbert C. Hoover	1929-1933	I am not prepared to believe that it indicates an impotence of the Federal Government to enforce its laws.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Impotence" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.43% of the time. "Impotence" is used about 175 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	99.43%	174	23,577
Noun (proper)	0.57%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	175	N/A

Hyphenated Usage
	Containing "impotence": anit-impotence drug.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "impotence"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		impotencë (impotency), papërkrahje (impotency), pafuqi (feebleness, hopelessness, impotency, infirmity, malady, malaise, nullity, weakness), paaftësi (disability, impotency, inability, inaptitude, incapability, incapacity, incompetence, inefficacy, inefficiency), dobësi (adynamia, anaemia, anemia, debility, delicacy, disease, failing, feebleness, flabbiness, flaccidity, fragility, frailty, goneness, impotency, inanimation, inanition, inanity, infirmity, labefaction, languish, languor, laxness, leanness, limpness, malady, marasmus, reaction, sinking, tabescence, tenuity, vulnerability, washiness, weakness). (various references)

Arabic		‏عجز جنسي, ‏ضعف (attenuation, backwardness, crack, craze, debility, decrepitude, defect, delicacy, emaciation, enervation, failing, failure, fainting, feebleness, flabbiness, flightiness, frailness, frailty, grogginess, imitators, impairment, inadequacy, incapability, infirmity, lameness, languor, limp, limpness, shakiness, sickliness, sleeplessness, tenuousness, twice, uneasiness, weak spot, weaklings, weakness), ‏العنة عجز جنسي, ‏العنة ضعف جنسي. (various references)

Bulgarian		слабост (asthenia, crack, debility, demerit, failing, fancy, feebleness, flabbiness, frailness, frailty, impotency, inanition, infirmity, insufficiency, leanness, partiality, poorness, shortcoming, tenderness, tenuity, weakness), безсилие (disability, emasculation, impotency), импотентност (impotency). (various references)

Chinese		� 能 (inability, incompetent). (various references)

Czech		impotence (impotency), slabost (debility, faintness, feebleness, frailty, infirmity, invalidity, qualm, thinness, weak spot, weakness), nemohoucnost. (various references)

Danish		impotens (impotency). (various references)

Dutch		impotentie (impotency). (various references)

Farsi		ناتوانی (Inability, Infirmity, Insufficience, Insufficiency, Intolerance), لاغری (Atrophy), سستی کمر, عنن , ضعف جنسی . (various references)

Finnish		kykenemättömyys (inability, incapacity, incompetence). (various references)

French		impotence (impotency). (various references)

German		impotenz (impotency), unfähigkeit (disability, inability, inaptitude, incapability, incapacity, incapacity for work, incompetence, incontinence, ineffectiveness, inefficiency, unability, unfitness), Unvermögen (disability, impotency, incapability, powerlessness). (various references)

Greek		ανικανότητα (disability, disablement, disqualification, helplessness, impotency, inability, incapability, incapableness, incapacity, incompetence, inefficiency, shiftlessness). (various references)

Hebrew		קוצר י�" (helplessness, powerlessness), עקרות (barrenness, futility, sterility, unproductiveness), אין או� ות (impotency), חוסר כח �'ברא (impotency). (various references)

Hungarian		impotencia (impotency), tehetetlenség (helplessness, impotency, inability, inertia, inertness, paralysis, powerlessness). (various references)

Indonesian		ketidakmampuan (disability). (various references)

Italian		impotenza (impotency, impuissance, powerlessness). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		陰萎 , インフレ対策 (counter-inflation measures, impedance, imperial, implement, implementation, implementor, implication, import, important, impossible, impression, impressive, improvisation, in play, inheritance, input, invader, invention, inventory, inventory cycles, inventory finance, inventory recession, inventory recovery, investment, investment analyst, investment bank, investment counselor, invoice, involve). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		い�"い, インポテンツ , インポテンス , インポ . (various references)

Korean		성불능. (various references)

Manx		neuvree (indolence, inefficacy, nullity), lhag-stayd, lhaggid bree. (various references)

Pig Latin		impotenceay.(various references)

Portuguese		impotência (disability, impotency). (various references)

Romanian		impotenţã (helplessness, impotency), sterilitate (barrenness, fruitlessness, impotency, sterility, unfruitfulness, unproductiveness), neputinţã (decrepitude, disability, emasculation, helplessness, impotency, indefensibility, infirmity, palsy). (various references)

Russian		бессилие (debility, disability, emasculation, impotency). (various references)

Scottish		cullachas. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		impotencija (impotency). (various references)

Spanish		impotencia (disability, handicap, impotency). (various references)

Swedish		vanmakt (impotency, powerlessness), maktlöshet (impotency, impuissance). (various references)

Turkish		iktidarsızlık (impotency, inability), zayıflık (caducity, debility, delicacy, diathesis, failing, faintness, feebleness, flabbiness, frailness, frailty, impotency, lameness, leanness, puniness, slimness, spareness, thinness, weakness), güçsüzlük (disability, feebleness, impotency, ineffectualness, infirmity, senility, shakiness, weakness), etkisizlik (impotency, inaction, ineffectiveness, ineffectualness, inefficacy), acizlik (impotency, inability, incapability, ineffectualness, palsy). (various references)

Ukranian		імпотенція (emasculation), нестриманість (abandon, breadth, expansiveness, expansivity, extravagance, incontinence, intemperance, unreserve), безсилля (adynamia, debility, emasculation). (various references)

Welsh		analluedd (inability), anallu (inability). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "impotence": impotences. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Impotence" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: exponence, impitence, impodence, impotenet, impotense, impotince, imputence, inpotence. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "impotence" (pronounced i"mputuns)
7	-m p u t u n s	competence, incompetence.
6	-p u t u n s	omnipotence.
5	-u t u n s	capacitance, inheritance.
4	-t u n s	acceptance, acquaintance, admittance, assistance, coexistence, consistence, distance, existence, importance, inadvertence, inductance, insistence, instance, persistence, pittance, reluctance, remittance, repentance, resistance, sentence, subsistence, substance.
3	-u n s	abeyance, abhorrence, absence, abstinence, abundance, accordance, acquiescence, adherence, admirations, adolescence, affluence, allegiance, alliance, allowance, ambiance, ambience, ambivalence, ambulance, annoyance, appearance, appliance, arrogance, ascendance, assurance, attendance, audience, avoidance, balance, belligerence, beneficence, benevolence, bioscience, brilliance, cadence, chrominance, circumference, clairvoyance, Clarence, clearance, cognizance, coherence, coincidence, coinsurance, comeuppance, compliance, concurrence, condolence, conference, confidence, confluence, conformance, congruence, connivance, conscience, consequence, continuance, contrivance, convalescence, convenience, convergence, conveyance, correspondence, countenance, counterbalance, counterintelligence, credence, dalliance, decadence, Defeasance, deference, defiance, deliverance, dependence, deterrence, deviance, difference, diligence, disallowance, disappearance, discontinuance, disobedience, dissidence, dissonance, disturbance, divergence, dominance, ebullience, elegance, eloquence, emergence, eminence, endurance, entrance, equivalence, essence, evanescence, evidence, excellence, expedience, experience, extravagance, exuberance, flamboyance, Florence, forbearance, fragrance, furtherance, governance, grievance, guidance, hindrance, ignorance, imbalance, immanence, imminence, impatience, impedance, imprudence, incidence, incoherence, incontinence, inconvenience, independence, indifference, indulgence, inexperience, inference, influence, innocence, insignificance, insolence, insurance, intelligence, interdependence, interference, intolerance, intransigence, invariance, irrelevance, irreverence, issuance, jurisprudence, licence, license, luminance, luminescence, maintenance, malfeasance, negligence, neuroscience, noncompliance, noninterference, nonviolence, nuisance, obedience, observance, obsolescence, occurrence, omnipresence, opulence, ordinance, Ordnance, overabundance, overconfidence, overdependence, overreliance, parlance, patience, penance, performance, permanence, persecutions, perseverance, pestilence, petulance, phosphorescence, precedence, predominance, preeminence, preference, preponderance, prescience, presence, prevalence, prominence, protuberance, provenance, Providence, province, prudence, pseudoscience, quintessence, radiance, reappearance, reassurance, recalcitrance, recognizance, reconnaissance, recurrence, reemergence, reference, reinspections, reinsurance, relevance, reliance, remembrance, reminiscence, resemblance, residence, resilience, resonance, resurgence, reticence, reverence, riddance, science, semblance, senescence, sequence, severance, significance, silence, submergence, subservience, subsidence, surveillance, sustenance, teleconference, temperance, tolerance, transcendence, transference, transience, turbulence, unbalance, utterance, Valence, variance, vehemence, vengeance, videoconference, vigilance, violence, virulence.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "c-e-e-i-m-n-o-p-t"
	-1 letter: pentomic.
	-2 letters: centime, centimo, compete, entopic, epitome, metopic, nepotic, onetime, picotee, pimento, potence, tonemic.
	-3 letters: cement, cenote, coempt, emetic, emetin, entice, icemen, impone, incept, income, metope, noetic, notice, optime, pecten, pectin, pitmen, poetic, pointe, poteen, potmen, toneme.
	-4 letters: cento, comet, compt, comte, conte, copen, emote, inept, mince, monie, monte, netop, niece, ontic, opine, optic, pence, picot, piece, pinot, pinto, piton, point, ponce, tempi, tempo, tonic, topee, topic.
	-5 letters: cent, cepe, cete, cine, cion, cite, coin, come, comp, cone, coni, cope, cote, emic, emit, epic, etic, icon, into, item, meet, meno, mete, mice, mien, mine, mint, mite, mope, mote, neem, neep, nice, nite, nome, nope, note, omen, omit, once, open, otic, peen, pein, pent, peon, pice, pine, pint, pion, poem, poet, pome, pone, teem, teen, temp, time, tine, tome, tone, tope, topi.
	Words containing the letters "c-e-e-i-m-n-o-p-t"
	+1 letter: impotences, incomplete.
	+2 letters: impotencies, incompetent, omnipotence.
	+3 letters: compensative, competencies, complimented, contemporize, contemptible, imperfection, incompetence, incompetency, incompetents, incompletely, intercompare, omnipotences, pinealectomy.
	+4 letters: acetaminophen, complementing, contemplative, contemporized, contemporizes, imperfections, incompetences, incompetently, intercompared, intercompares, misperception, morphogenetic, nephelometric, nephrectomies, nephrectomize, omnicompetent, paleomagnetic, perfectionism, precommitment, spermatogenic, splenectomies, splenectomize, uncompetitive.
	+5 letters: acetaminophens, appendectomies, appendicectomy, chemoreception, compatibleness, complementizer, contemplatives, contemporaries, decompensating, decompensation, exceptionalism, incompetencies, incompleteness, magnetospheric, mercaptopurine, misperceptions, nephrectomized, nephrectomizes, noncompetitive, omnicompetence, perfectionisms, pinealectomies, pinealectomize, potentiometric, splenectomized, splenectomizes, uncomputerized.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

49 6D 70 6F 74 65 6E 63 65

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

⁼

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.. -- .--. --- - . -. -.-. .

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01001001 01101101 01110000 01101111 01110100 01100101 01101110 01100011 01100101

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#73 &#109 &#112 &#111 &#116 &#101 &#110 &#99 &#101

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0049 006D 0070 006F 0074 0065 006E 0063 0065

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

Expression	Frequency per Day
impotence	1,258
male impotence	226
impotence treatment	152
impotence drug	98
viagra impotence	93
impotence treatment viagra	82
impotence cure	72
impotence cause	51
impotence tenuate	45
female impotence	30
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Impotence

Definitions: Impotence

Impotence

Noun

Specialty Definitions: Impotence

Specialty Definition: Impotence

Synonyms: Impotence

Synonyms within Context: Impotence

Absence of Influence

Impotence

Insufficiency

Unproductiveness

Weakness

Crosswords: Impotence

Modern Usage: Impotence

Screenplays

Commercial Usage: Impotence

References

Books

Theater & Movies

Familiar Quotations: Impotence

Johann Kaspar Lavater

Napoleon Bonaparte

Non-Fiction Usage: Impotence

Speeches: Impotence

Herbert C. Hoover

Usage Frequency: Impotence

Expression: Impotence

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Impotence

impotence

male impotence

impotence treatment

impotence drug

viagra impotence

impotence treatment viagra

impotence cure

impotence cause

impotence tenuate

female impotence

Modern Translations: Impotence

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Farsi

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Korean

Manx

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Scottish

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukranian

Welsh

Derivations & Misspellings: Impotence

Derivations

Misspellings

Rhyming with "Impotence"

Anagrams: Impotence

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Alternative Orthography: Impotence

49 6D 70 6F 74 65 6E 63 65

.. -- .--. --- - . -. -.-. .