A.without means or resources, helpless, Od.19.363; “πενία ἀ.” B.1.61; “πόριμον αὑτῷ τῇ πόλει δ᾽ ἀ.” Ar.Ra.1429; “ἀ. καὶ ἄτεχνος” Pl.Plt.274c; of animals, opp. εὐμήχανος, Arist.HA 614b34: hence,
2. incapable, awkward, “ἀφραδέες καὶ ἀ.” h.Ap. 192, cf. Theoc.1.85; “τὸν ἀ. ὀρθοῦν” A.Th.227; “ἀ. γυνή” E.Hipp.643; ἀ. εἴς τι awkward at thing, Id.Med.408. Adv., ἀμηχάνως ἔχειν, = ἀμηχανεῖν, A.Ch.407, E., etc.
3. c. inf., at a loss how to do, unable to do, “τὸ δὲ βίᾳ πολιτῶν δρᾶν ἔφυν ἀ.” S.Ant.79; -ώτατος ὅ τι χρὴ λέγειν πορίσασθαι [D.]60.12, etc.
II. more freq. in pass. sense, allowing of no means:
b. of things, hard, impossible, τοῦτό μ᾽ ἄνωγας ἀμήχανον ἄλλο τελέσσαι ib. 14.262; “τοῦτο δ᾽ ἀ. εὑρεῖν” Pi.O.7.25, cf. Hdt.1.48; ὁδὸς ἀ. εἰσελθεῖν road hard or impossible to enter on, X.An.1.2.21; “ἀ. ἐστὶ γενέσθαι” Emp.12, cf. Hdt. 1.48,204, S.Ant.175, etc.: abs., ἀμήχανα impossibilities, ἀμηχάνων ἐρᾶν ib.90, cf. 92; “δεινὸς . . εὑρεῖν κἀξ ἀ. πόρον” A.Pr.59, cf. Ar.Eq.759: Sup., Them. in Ph.91.12.
2. against whom or which nothing can be done, irresistible, freq. in Hom. of Zeus, Hera, Achilles; ἀ. ἐσσι, ἀ. ἔπλευ, Il.10.167, 16.29; “Ἔρος . . ἀ. ὄρπετον” Sapph.40.
b. of things, ἀ. ἔργα mischief without help or remedy, Il.8.130; “δόλος” Hes.Th. 589; “κήδεα” Archil.66; “δύαι” A.Eu.561 (lyr.); ἄλγος, νόσοι, S.El.140 (lyr.), Ant.363 (lyr.); “συμφορά” Simon.5.11, cf. E.Med.392; κακόν ib.447: Comp. “-ωτέρα, ἀγλαΐα” Them.Or.4.51c.
c. esp. of dreams, inexplicable, not to be interpreted, Od.19.560.
3. extraordinary, enormous, “ποταμῶν ἀ. μεγέθη” Pl.Phd.111d;“ἡδοναί” Id.Phlb.46e; ἀμή χανον εὐδαιμονίας an inconceivable amount of happiness, Id.Ap.41c: freq.c.acc., ἀ. τὸ μέγεθος, τὸ κάλλος, τὸ πλῆθος, etc., i.e. inconceivable in point of size, etc., Id.R.584b, 615a, X.Cyr.7.5.38: c. dat., “ἀ. πλήθει τε καὶ ἀτοπία” Pl.Phdr.229d (nisi leg. ἀμηχάνων πλήθη τε καὶ ἀτοπίαι, where ἀ. = monsters): abs., infinitely great, “δύναμις” Plot.5.3.16.
