paralyze

verb

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par·a·lyze | \ ˈper-ə-ˌlīz

, ˈpa-rə- \

paralyzed; paralyzing

Definition of paralyze

transitive verb

1 : to affect with paralysis The snake's venom paralyzed the mouse.

2 : to make powerless or ineffective A strike would paralyze the industry.

3 : unnerve the parlyzing thing is the uncertainty— Evelyn Whitehead

4 : stun, stupefy I would paralyze the empire with the news!— Rudyard Kipling

5 : to bring to an end : prevent, destroy deadlock paralyzed action— F. A. Ogg & Harold Zink

Other Words from paralyze Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about paralyze

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Other Words from paralyze

paralyzation \ ˌper-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən

, ˌpa-rə- \ noun

paralyzer \ ˈper-ə-ˌlī-zər

, ˈpa-rə- \ noun

paralyzingly \ ˈper-ə-ˌlī-ziŋ-lē

, ˈpa-rə \ adverb

Examples of paralyze in a Sentence

The snake's venom paralyzed the mouse. The air strikes have paralyzed the city's transportation system. The company was paralyzed by debt.

Recent Examples on the Web When massive demonstrations against racial injustice erupted across the nation last summer, protesters used an increasingly common tactic to draw attention to their cause: swarming out onto major roads to temporarily paralyze traffic. — Sean Murphy, chicagotribune.com, "Republican politicians across the US propose legislation that would protect drivers who hit protestors," 20 Feb. 2021 Authorities allege the primary was part of a plot to take control of the legislature in order to paralyze government and force the city's leader to resign. — Fox News, "US joined by Australia, UK and Canada in criticizing Hong Kong mass arrests," 10 Jan. 2021 Such a delay could paralyze FCC rule making, policy analysts at New Street Research wrote this month, and jeopardize bipartisan agenda items such as freeing up spectrum for wireless networks. — Christopher Mims, WSJ, "Joe Biden’s 5 Tech Priorities," 19 Dec. 2020 With the coronavirus skyrocketing, the HB6 scandal continuing to paralyze a lot of legislators and Ohio politics in flux, why are lawmakers focused on a new law to let people train owls for hunting? — Laura Johnston, cleveland, "Gov. Mike DeWine takes big steps to stop coronavirus: This Week in the CLE," 12 Nov. 2020 Did the praise help you with the next project, or paralyze you? — Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, "Adrian Tomine’s “Love Life”," 30 Nov. 2020 Working out all those implications could paralyze the payment system, leaving providers unpaid indefinitely. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, "Column: The Supreme Court Obamacare case centers on technicalities, but much more is at stake," 10 Nov. 2020 The polio virus could paralyze children and caused panic every summer, leading to the closing of camps and pools. — Robin Marantz Henig, National Geographic, "To end this pandemic, we must trust science," 13 Oct. 2020 The laced weapons can easily paralyze or kill an animal. — Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, "14 Fun Facts About Frightening Animals," 30 Oct. 2020

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