1
as in to incapacitate
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to injure
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the collision so severely crippled the ship that it had to be towed into port
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3
as in to paralyze
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cripple
That crippled Huawei’s smartphone brand, once one of the world’s biggest.
—
Joe McDonald, ajc, 9 Mar. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared, and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Christina Goldbaum, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Feb. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Yaqoob Akbary Kiana Hayeri, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2023
If nothing is done, this could cripple the ISS.
—Kay Bailey Hutchison and Jane Harman, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for cripple
Joe McDonald, ajc, 9 Mar. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared, and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Christina Goldbaum, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Feb. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Yaqoob Akbary Kiana Hayeri, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2023
If nothing is done, this could cripple the ISS.
—Kay Bailey Hutchison and Jane Harman, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for cripple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cripple
Verb
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In November 2024, Morrissey claimed Williams was deemed permanently incapacitated in a court filing.—
Elizabeth Ayoola,
Essence,
13 Aug. 2025
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The allegation of being rapidly incapacitated by a glass of wine has an echo in another incident Levy included in her report, an accusation of rape and drugging made against Wang in 2006.—
Sammy Sussman,
Vulture,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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With Ter Stegen injured and the returning Wojciech Szczesny not yet registered either, having signed a new contract in July after his initial short-term from last September expired.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
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Three officers were shot and injured while responding to domestic disturbance call at a residence in Utah, law enforcement said.—
Jessica Gorman,
ABC News,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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At a time when institutions are bending the knee to Donald Trump and the Democratic Party is paralyzed, the WFP is building capacity, strategically leveraging power, and engaging voters in cities big and small.—
Theo Oshiro,
New York Daily News,
14 Aug. 2025
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The breach paralyzed billing and claims systems for weeks across the U.S. healthcare network.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
3 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Some of these technologies are essential for ensuring the proper functioning of the service or website and cannot be disabled, while others are optional but serve to enhance the user experience in various ways.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
15 Aug. 2025
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This tab logs all your previous chats and has options to disable or delete them.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Hailey has an even rarer type of the illness, an extreme form of hemophilia B. That means bleeding inside his body could damage organs or tissue and quickly put his life at risk.—
Beth Warren,
The Tennessean,
21 Aug. 2025
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Scars on the trunks of floodplain trees where other wood in the swiftly flowing water smacked into the tree trunk with enough force to damage the bark or even shear off the living tree.—
Ellen Wohl
August 20,
Literary Hub,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Trump’s suggestion of easing economic restrictions has drawn sharp criticism from European allies, who warn that any premature normalization could undermine the unified Western stance on sanctions and harm Ukraine’s position in ongoing negotiations.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
16 Aug. 2025
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Israeli authorities have stated that Chinese involvement in missile development or supply could directly undermine Israel's defense efforts.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The girl was taking her dogs outside when the hog came out of thick brush and attacked her, wounding her leg.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Aug. 2025
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Eight civilians were killed and 33 were wounded in the eastern province of Donetsk.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Boston comes in with three straight losses marring otherwise agreeable vibes.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
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Many worried that the marshy western shore of the borough had been forever marred.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cripple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripple. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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