Meaning & use
disempowered
Last updated
Made to feel or become less powerful, confident, or in control.
See it in a sentence
Years of being talked over at meetings left her feeling disempowered.
The new regulations disempowered local councils by shifting authority to the central government.
A note on using this word
Popularized in social and political discourse from the 1990s onward, often describing groups who have lost agency or voice within a system.
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