paralyzed

1 of 2

adjective

par·​a·​lyzed ˈper-ə-ˌlīzd 

ˈpa-rə-

1

: affected with paralysis

… a viral infection that paralyzed half her face and impaired her balance, hearing, and eyesight …

—Golf

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

Thousands of paralyzed people worldwide are in the socially closed-off state.

—Christen Brownlee

2

: 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

Those who uncover plagiarism become paralyzed with embarrassment, letting the culprit escape rather than confronting him.

—Walter Kendrick

paralyzed

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of paralyze

Synonyms of paralyzed

Adjective

• disabled
• paralytic

Examples of paralyzed in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Adjective

Hasan was left paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in the back by law enforcement and now uses a wheelchair. — Seung Min Kim, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

When her aunt Helena and paralyzed grandmother Regina arrive, the fragile boundaries between everyday life, ancestral superstition and Trina’s increasingly disturbing nightmares begin to collapse. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026

Some officials, the sources said, have raised concerns about the optics of broadcasting an execution, particularly one in which a firing squad would shoot a paralyzed man confined to a wheelchair. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026

The story follows Lowen, a struggling writer hired to complete the book series of renowned author Verity Crawford after an accident leaves Verity paralyzed and unable to communicate. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for paralyzed

• acclimatized
• aerosolized
• alphabetized
• aluminized
• anaesthetized
• anesthetized
• annualized
• antagonized
• apologised
• apologized
• capitalised
• capitalized