Helplessnesses [noun]

Shocked and helpless, floating prey made easy pickings for the mass of eels.

The then helpless, floating prey make easy pickings for the mass of eels.

Just as we would start to fall asleep, it would blare for a minute or two and then stop, and we were helpless to fix it.

In 1943, Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz proposed what he called “baby schema”—an evolutionary adaptation that encourages us to care for helpless infants.

“It’s a whole cycle of annoyance and feeling helpless and hopeless,” Eli said.

He was aware of his own helplessness; he felt almost like a boy scolding his own wise, affectionate mother.

"I ask no promise from you," continued the excited and suspicious man, writhing under a sense of his helplessness.

Mamma trusted to me to be a mother to them, papa looks to me, and I so unfit, besides this helplessness.

Before this Mr. Chittenden had not thought of marriage, but now the helplessness of the girl appealed to him.

She caught her underlip between two rows of white teeth to quell the groan of helplessness.