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

That's particularly painful to Hassan, a second-term lawmaker and former governor with a now-adult son, Ben, who was born almost four decades ago with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects movement and posture. —Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025

Hestrin said the child is bedridden and has cerebral palsy as a result of the abuse. —Madeline Morrison, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2025

The three-time Oscar winner covered a lot of ground, including a particularly interesting aside about work on Jim Sheridan’s 1989 feature My Left Foot, in which Day-Lewis plays Irish writer and painter Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy and only had control of his left foot. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2025

At age 18, Fedorus started sharing her experiences with cerebral palsy on TikTok. —David Chiu, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 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