noun
helpless; without recourse; out of resources
Literary or formal term describing a state of having no one to turn to and no means left. Often implies a pitiable condition of being utterly without help or resources.
彼は無告の民の声を代弁しようとした。
He tried to speak for the voiceless people.
無告の状態に陥った人々を支援する。
We support people who have fallen into a helpless state.
Compound of 無 (mu, 'without') and 告 (koku, 'to tell, to appeal'). The literal meaning is 'having no one to tell' or 'without anyone to appeal to', which extended to 'helpless' and 'destitute'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word appears in classical Chinese and was adopted into literary Japanese.