cerebral palsy

noun

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Definition of cerebral palsy

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

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cerebral-palsied

adjective

See cerebral palsy defined for English-language learners

See cerebral palsy defined for kids

Recent Examples of cerebral palsy from the Web

Christopher Ward, 19, was charged earlier this year with second-degree reckless homicide in the death of 14-year-old Jada Wright, who had cerebral palsy and used a wheelchair.

— ashley luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee man accused of killing teen cousin with cerebral palsy argues his arrest was illegal," 4 June 2018
Butler, a senior has cerebral palsy and competes in the shot put.

— matthew vantryon, Indianapolis Star, "At the Unified track meet, everyone wins. 'The inclusion revolution is happening.'," 2 June 2018
Justin Boisvert, 30, was born with cerebral palsy and has used a wheelchair to get around for most of his life.

— jason duaine hahn, PEOPLE.com, "See the Emotional Moment Groom Marries the Woman He Once Feared Wouldn't Date Him As He Has Cerebral Palsy," 2 June 2018
Those with cerebral palsy that affected their hand coordination might replace sleeve buttons with Velcro.

— emily matchar, Smithsonian, "Designing “Adaptive Clothing” For Those With Special Needs," 8 May 2018
Caleb was born prematurely and has cerebral palsy, and Norton’s new mobility lab was set up to help kids like him overcome mobility challenges.

— emma austin, The Courier-Journal, "Kids make strides using new technology at Norton Healthcare," 7 June 2018
Bonar was born with cerebral palsy and travels Indiana with the Champions Together program talking about the significance of unified sports.

— chris sims, Indianapolis Star, "What you need to know about the IPL 500 Festival Parade," 21 May 2018
The Chatfield High School senior joined his classmates at Red Rocks Amphitheater to walk and accept their diplomas Thursday -- no small feat for Covey, who lives with cerebral palsy, and was determined to step up to the podium.

— thom leavy, CBS News, "Colorado teen overcomes disability to walk across stage at graduation," 20 May 2018
Their prototype drew praise from executives throughout the company, including Chief Executive Satya Nadella, whose son Zain was born in 1996 with cerebral palsy.

— sarah e. needleman, WSJ, "Disabled Gamers Get a New Controller From Microsoft," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cerebral palsy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of cerebral palsy

1889

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

cerebral palsy

noun

medical Definition of cerebral palsy

: 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

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