impasse

deadlock

noun eem-PAHS Rare

Origin: From French impasse (dead end), from in- (not) + passe (passage).

Also means

impasse

Usage Note

Impasse is a French loanword used in Italian as feminine (l'impasse, invariable plural). The seed marks it masculine, but in standard Italian usage it is treated as feminine: si è trovata in una difficile impasse. It describes a situation with no way forward, stronger than stallo (stalemate).

Examples

"I negoziati sono giunti a un'impasse."

Natural Translation

The negotiations have reached a deadlock.

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