1
as in to cripple
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a blizzard paralyzed the city for two days
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to intimidate
to deprive of courage or confidence
the school board is paralyzed by the threat of lawsuits for just about everything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paralyze
The tranquil normalcy of a residential neighborhood in the Canadian city of Montreal was shattered Monday morning after a gunman opened fire, prompting a shootout with police that killed at least two people, sent families running for cover and paralyzed the city for hours.
—
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
His grief was crushing, paralyzing, calamitous.
—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
22 June 2026
The tiniest decisions were paralyzing.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
Barricades erected on key roads have effectively isolated the city of La Paz, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals — causing at least seven deaths for lack of medical attention, the government says.
—
ABC News,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for paralyze
Lex Harvey,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
His grief was crushing, paralyzing, calamitous.
—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
22 June 2026
The tiniest decisions were paralyzing.
—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
22 June 2026
Barricades erected on key roads have effectively isolated the city of La Paz, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals — causing at least seven deaths for lack of medical attention, the government says.
—
ABC News,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for paralyze
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paralyze
Verb
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Attacking and denying a nation’s assets in space can cripple the effective use of weapons on the ground.
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The move on Monday marks the most sweeping rollback of American oil sanctions against Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, reversing years of pressure designed to cripple Iran's economy, and is expected to deliver billions in oil revenue for the Iranian regime.
Verb
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Those rights-holders have said the fence is intended to intimidate them or restrict their access, but Harrison’s attorneys have said the fence is meant to ward off those without access rights.
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Given how often Trump has threatened to resume the war without following through, and given his determination to move on, that prospect alone appears unlikely to intimidate Tehran.
Verb
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Airbus UpNext's DragonFly project is developing AI that manages complex emergencies autonomously when the crew is incapacitated.
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According to the law enforcement investigation, Garcia activated her Taser seven times in a row in about a minute, with the State Patrol concluding that three to four of those activations occurred after Tomlinson was already incapacitated by the initial Taser deployments.
Verb
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But her outbursts frightened the children too.
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What frightened me most was what might happen to my children.
Verb
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Kirk had disappeared from their feeds, and Erika Kirk had gone viral for the wrong reasons—taking the stage at her husband’s memorial service amid pyrotechnics and attempting her own campus tour, undermining her image as a Christian trad wife whose priorities were her family and her home.
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Over his 18-year tenure at the Fed, Greenspan embodied the omnipotent technocrat — a legacy critics say was fatally undermined by his failure to spot the 2008 housing bubble.
Verb
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Supporters — many of them wearing Colombia’s yellow and red colors — rushed the gates at the home stadium of the NFL's Miami Dolphins, leaving fans terrified and bloodied as security struggled to contain the rush.
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In La Guaira, entire sections of Catia la Mar remained without electricity on Thursday after many residents spent Wednesday night sleeping in streets, cars or near damaged buildings, terrified of further collapses.
Verb
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Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images BEIJING — China’s consumer spending slowdown persisted in June, with growth during one of the country’s largest online shopping festivals weakening sharply from a year earlier.
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All three of those protagonists have been weakened in their roles by what has gone on.
Verb
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Don’t be scared by his blue eyes.
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The intent of the letters isn’t to scare people, but to educate them about water stewardship, Talbott said.
Cite this Entry
“Paralyze.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paralyze. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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