a difficult situation in which no progress can be made because the people involved cannot agree what to do synonym deadlock to break/end the impasse Negotiations have reached an impasse. The Governor attempted to resolve Minnesota’s current budget impasse. The proposal offered both sides a way out of the diplomatic impasse. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecurrent, present, diplomatic, … verb + impassereach, break, end, … phrasesa way out of an impasse See full entry Word Originmid 19th cent.: from French, from im- (expressing negation) + the stem of passer ‘to pass’.
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