paralyze

verb

par·​a·​lyze ˈper-ə-ˌlīz 

ˈpa-rə-

paralyzed; paralyzing

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 paralyzing 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

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

Synonyms

• cripple
• disable
• hamstring
• immobilize
• incapacitate
• prostrate

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

Pamela Pinckney hired the South Carolina lawyer after a car wreck in 2009 and again after her son, who was paralyzed in the crash, died. —Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2023

The House was paralyzed without a speaker and in theory can start working again. —Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2023

Republican hopefuls weigh in on new Speaker Mike Johnson Mike Johnson's election by his Republican colleagues in the House ended three weeks in which the chamber didn't have a leader -- paralyzing half of Congress. —ABC News, 25 Oct. 2023

Gone was the caution that had paralyzed him during his Presidential bids. —Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023

An engineer trying to keep the electricity working at the neonatal unit was struck in the neck and paralyzed, Abusada said. —Margherita Stancati, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2023

The bullet severed her spinal chord, paralyzing her from the waist down. —Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023

Detectives located two 9 mm shell casings at the scene and evidence of projectile strikes to both the back of the car's driver's seat headrest and the seat back of a wheelchair thought to belong to Jenkins Jr., who was paralyzed from the waist down, the affidavit states. —Grant Lancaster, Arkansas Online, 5 Nov. 2023

The enduring friendship between Daniel Radcliffe and his Harry Potter stunt double, who was paralyzed during a stunt while filming, is the focus of the upcoming documentary David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, which premieres on HBO later this month. —Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

French paralyser, back-formation from paralysie paralysis, from Latin paralysis

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

paralyze

verb

par·​a·​lyze ˈpar-ə-ˌlīz 

paralyzed; paralyzing

1

: to affect with paralysis

2

: to make powerless or unable to act, function, or move

Medical Definition

paralyze

transitive verb

par·​a·​lyze

variants or British paralyse

ˈpar-ə-ˌlīz 

paralyzed or British paralysed; paralyzing or British paralysing

: to affect with paralysis

paralyzation noun

or British paralysation

ˌpar-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən