cerebral palsy

noun

: a disability resulting from damage to the brain before, during, or shortly after birth and outwardly manifested by muscular incoordination and speech disturbances

cerebral-palsied

sə-ˈrē-brəl-ˈpȯl-zēd 

ˈser-ə-

ˈse-rə-

adjective

Examples of cerebral palsy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The girl, who had cerebral palsy, used a wheelchair and was non-verbal, died of hyperthermia as temperatures inside the vehicle reached up to 135 degrees in the summer of 2019, according to a press release from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Colleton County, S.C. —Nicole Acosta, People.com, 17 May 2025

This coming-of-age film, based on a 2010 novel by Sharon M. Draper, stars Phoebe-Ray Taylor as a sixth-grader with cerebral palsy facing the challenges of being in a mainstream class for the first time. —Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2025

Arizona Officers Suspended After Beating Deaf Black Man With Cerebral Palsy Three Phoenix police officers who beat and tased Tyron McAlpin, a Black man who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, have been suspended without pay for 24 hours, according to interim police chief Michael Sullivan. —Essence, 28 Mar. 2025

Woodland is the seventh recipient and joins fellow professional players Erik Compton, Gene Sauers, Morgan Hoffmann, Chris Kirk and the late Jarrod Lyle, as well as activist D.J. Gregory, who advocates for people with cerebral palsy. —David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cerebral palsy

noun

: a disease resulting from damage to the brain usually before or during birth and resulting in imperfect control of muscles, paralysis, and speech disturbances

Medical Definition

cerebral palsy

noun

: a disability resulting from damage to the brain before, during, or shortly after birth and outwardly manifested by muscular incoordination and speech disturbances see ataxic cerebral palsy, athetoid cerebral palsy, spastic cerebral palsy

cerebral palsied adjective