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

Tristan had a traumatic birth, which led to him having cerebral palsy and bilateral cochlear implants. —Thomas Drance, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026

The latest legislative push was prompted by a car accident in California in June 2024 that left Coleman, then five-years-old, with a traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy, according to the White House. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 25 Feb. 2026

Since emerging from a coma after the crash, Dalilah Coleman has been recovering but is nonverbal and has diplegic cerebral palsy, her family has said. —Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026

Given that bed rest studies have been used to simulate the effects of microgravity, people born with cerebral palsy can give us some sense of how a child’s body might be affected by partial gravity. —Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026

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