paralyzed
adjective
par·a·lyzed
ˈper-ə-ˌlīzd 
ˈpa-rə-
1
: affected with paralysis
If the right hemisphere of the brain is badly damaged in its sensory (parietal) areas, patients may show … an unawareness that anything is the matter, even though the left side of their body is senseless or paralyzed.—
Oliver Sacks
Oliver SacksThousands of paralyzed people worldwide are in the socially closed-off state.—Christen Brownlee
Christen Brownlee2
: rendered incapable of movement or action
I was not found by the teacher until what seemed to me hours later but was probably five minutes, paralyzed with fright.—Kay Boyle
Kay BoyleThose who uncover plagiarism become paralyzed with embarrassment, letting the culprit escape rather than confronting him.—Walter Kendrick
Walter KendrickExamples of paralyzed in a Sentence
special ramps for paralyzed people in wheelchairs
a seemingly paralyzed mayor sat by as the city's crime rate soared
Recent Examples on the Web
More recently, in a tragic turn of events, he was left paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament last year.
—Peter Aitken
alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025
In Facility Theatre’s new revival of the Irish playwright’s absurdist tragicomedy, the blind and paralyzed character (played by artistic director Kirk Anderson) looks like a slightly steampunk Scrooge, writes Emily McClanathan.
—Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2025
In league with its sniveling human colleague Gabriel (Esai Morales, cackling with evil intent as if being paid by the cackle), The Entity is hacking into the world’s nuclear defense systems and taking control of the missiles, one paralyzed and panicking nation at a time.
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
There’s the construction worker left paralyzed after a fall—whose case Dedvukaj took when others wouldn’t.
—William Jones, USA Today, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for paralyzed
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Peter Aitken
alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 June 2025
In Facility Theatre’s new revival of the Irish playwright’s absurdist tragicomedy, the blind and paralyzed character (played by artistic director Kirk Anderson) looks like a slightly steampunk Scrooge, writes Emily McClanathan.
—Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2025
In league with its sniveling human colleague Gabriel (Esai Morales, cackling with evil intent as if being paid by the cackle), The Entity is hacking into the world’s nuclear defense systems and taking control of the missiles, one paralyzed and panicking nation at a time.
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
There’s the construction worker left paralyzed after a fall—whose case Dedvukaj took when others wouldn’t.
—William Jones, USA Today, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for paralyzed
Cite this Entry
“Paralyzed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paralyzed. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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