German word

ratlos

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈʁaːtloːs/

Meaning

  • adjectivepuzzled

Example

Er wirkt ratloser als gestern.

He seems more puzzled than yesterday.

Illustration for ratlos (puzzled)

More examples

Vor der falschen Tür war sie völlig ratlos.

In front of the wrong door, she was completely puzzled.

Core concept

Someone faces a problem while the useful answer or next step remains out of reach.

Common phrases

  • völlig ratlos

    completely puzzled

  • ratlos sein

    be puzzled

  • ratloser Blick

    puzzled look

Similar words

verwirrt: Unable to form clear thoughts or make a sound judgment.
orientierungslos: Confused after losing a sense of direction or a grasp of the situation.
hilflos: Feeling powerless to deal with the problem without help or a workable method.
perplex: Deeply bewildered about how to act in the situation.

Definition in German

kein klares Vorgehen kennen; nicht wissen, was man tun soll

Word origin

The adjective developed from Rat, 'advice' or 'counsel', plus -los, a German suffix meaning 'without'.

Usage tips

  • Ratlos commonly occurs with sein or wirken, as in 'ratlos sein' and 'ratlos wirken', for an inner state or an outward impression.

Other meanings

  • at a lossadjective
  • helplessadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • Ratlosigkeitpuzzlementnoun
  • ratloserweiseperplexedlyadverb

Word lists with this word