This compound adjective (alpha-privative + kratos) means "without power over oneself," "lacking self-control," or "intemperate." Classical usage applied it to those who couldn't control their appetites, passions, or impulses—powerless over pleasure, anger, or desire. Paul uses it in 2 Timothy 3:3 describing the moral deterioration of the last days: people will be "without self-control." The term captures the loss of inner discipline and mastery over base desires—lives governed by impulse rather than reason or virtue, enslaved to passion rather than exercising rational control. It's the opposite of the self-mastery (enkrateia) that should characterize believers.