as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose
the inadequate supplies of vaccine left many people high and dry when the flu season arrived
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of high and dry
And while the company has sports rights, its hoards them for CBS and Paramount+, leaving the cable channels high and dry.
—
Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024
The only instance in his coaching career was in 2018 when LeBron James left the Cavaliers high and dry with a rotation that nobody could win with.
—Shane Young, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
A lot of members of boy bands — and there are a lot of them — had managers who left them high and dry.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
When our unused fields are high and dry and the neighbors next to them are underwater, that’s a problem.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for high and dry 
Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024
The only instance in his coaching career was in 2018 when LeBron James left the Cavaliers high and dry with a rotation that nobody could win with.
—Shane Young, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
A lot of members of boy bands — and there are a lot of them — had managers who left them high and dry.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
When our unused fields are high and dry and the neighbors next to them are underwater, that’s a problem.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for high and dry
Recent Examples of Synonyms for high and dry
Adjective
-
As the screaming continued, the terrified neighbor, 44, shooed her young sons away from the door and looked through the peephole into the hallway, watching as the assailant stabbed the helpless woman in the back of her neck with a knife at least 8 inches long.—
Ellen Moynihan,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2025
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What can people do to spread more civility rather than feeling helpless?—
Stephen Humphries,
The Christian Science Monitor,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Airbnb is being sued after a guest was shot and left paralyzed at a birthday party hosted in one of its rentals.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
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BCIs have been used to lift food to a paralyzed user's mouth, for instance, or to select letters on a computer screen when typing messages.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Its economy and productivity are weak, debt is high and trade diversification is low, the analysts added, singling out the country’s already-declining softwood lumber industry as particularly at risk.—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
3 Feb. 2025
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When those cells outnumber the osteoblasts, though, there's an overall loss of bone tissue, resulting in weaker, more fragile bones.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
2 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Andrew Jay Cohen’s incompetent direction — the movie doesn’t even build up to jokes, let alone follow them through — leads to an airless, desperate comedy in which every cast member is stranded.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
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They were meant to cause political harm and yet increased the concern of the flying public that commercial aviation has somehow magically become unsafe, manned by incompetent air traffic controllers.—
Michael B. Teiger,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near high and dry
Cite this Entry
“High and dry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/high%20and%20dry. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.
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