powerless
adj.adj. having no ability to influence people or change a situation. You feel this way when you want to act but do not have the strength or authority to do so.
adj. lacking the capacity or authority to act, influence others, or change the course of events. Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'feel' or 'seem'.
I felt powerless to stop the changes at work.
The local residents felt powerless against the large corporation's plan to build a factory in their quiet neighborhood.
The protagonist's journey is defined by his transition from a powerless observer of political corruption to a central figure in the resistance movement.
From Middle English pouerles, powerles, equivalent to power + -less.
Often followed by the 'to' infinitive ('powerless to act') or the preposition 'against'.