paralyzed

adjective

par·​a·​lyzed ˈper-ə-ˌlīzd 

ˈpa-rə-

1

: affected with paralysis

… a viral infection that paralyzed half her face and impaired her balance, hearing, and eyesight …

—Golf

If the right hemisphere of the brain is badly damaged in its sensory (parietal) areas, patients may show … an unawareness that anything is the matter, even though the left side of their body is senseless or paralyzed.

—Oliver Sacks

Thousands of paralyzed people worldwide are in the socially closed-off state.

—Christen Brownlee

2

: rendered incapable of movement or action

I was not found by the teacher until what seemed to me hours later but was probably five minutes, paralyzed with fright.

—Kay Boyle

Those who uncover plagiarism become paralyzed with embarrassment, letting the culprit escape rather than confronting him.

—Walter Kendrick

Synonyms of paralyzed

• disabled
• paralytic

Examples of paralyzed in a Sentence

special ramps for paralyzed people in wheelchairs

a seemingly paralyzed mayor sat by as the city's crime rate soared

Recent Examples on the Web

Your stomach isn’t literally paralyzed — but it’s slowed down enough to cause real problems. —Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026

Hollywood on a bad day is paralyzed, absolutely paralyzed, and incapable of making new decisions. —Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026

One of the bullets hit the teen’s spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, his mother said. —Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026

Anita Carrington is launching a nonprofit named after her son Ny'Leek Ellison, who died two months ago from complications stemming from the crash, which happened last year at 9th and Tilghman streets and left him paralyzed from the neck down. —Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for paralyzed

• acclimatized
• aerosolized
• alphabetized
• aluminized
• anaesthetized
• anesthetized
• annualized
• antagonized
• apologised
• apologized
• capitalised
• capitalized