1
as in to incapacitate
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Such a finding could’ve crippled the operations of Google, Meta and X, among various others.
—
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
Given the right series of chances, players could potentially construct a build that blasts thunder and chains together static strikes that will cripple entire rooms of foes at once.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Russian hackers crippled the Colonial Gas Pipeline for five days in 2021, causing shortages at 16,200 gas stations along the East Coast and widespread consumer anxiety before the company paid a $5 million ransom to regain access to its computers.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cripple
Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
Given the right series of chances, players could potentially construct a build that blasts thunder and chains together static strikes that will cripple entire rooms of foes at once.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
Russian hackers crippled the Colonial Gas Pipeline for five days in 2021, causing shortages at 16,200 gas stations along the East Coast and widespread consumer anxiety before the company paid a $5 million ransom to regain access to its computers.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cripple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cripple
Verb
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One caller said a delta-8 gummy incapacitated their adult son for several hours.—
Gina Lee Castro,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The two people injured in the crash were taken to a hospital for further medical evaluation.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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An elk hunter was seriously injured in a bear attack in British Columbia, according to Canadian authorities.—
Lauren Liebhaber,
Miami Herald,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Shortly after Henry’s death, Augusta suffered two paralyzing strokes, intensifying her and Ed’s isolated, co-dependent relationship before her death in 1945.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
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The family is reeling from the tragedy as Kinzely has been paralyzed from the neck down, her family said in a GoFundMe set up to assist with Kayleb's funeral and medical assistance for the surviving children.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 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.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
7 Oct. 2025
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Because fiber-optic drones are harder to produce, they are typically reserved for high-value strikes or for disabling jamming systems to clear the way for cheaper FPVs.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Driving through deep water can also damage a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Oct. 2025
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Putin himself has previously suggested that the United States supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine will seriously damage relations between Moscow and Washington.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One bad manager or leader can, in but a few months, undermine a team with decades of collective service to the organization.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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Whatever desire the audience might have to root for Kerr is undermined by his mounting failures in the ring and his growing friction with Dawn.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Also on Tuesday, a farmer in his 20s was attacked by a bear in the northern prefecture of Akita, days after a Spanish tourist was wounded by another animal while walking near a shuttle bus top at the Shirakawa Village, a popular destination in central Japan.—
Yumi Asada,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
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Real healing isn’t about erasing what’s wounded.—
Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez,
Time,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Despite the Nittany Lions beginning the year ranked second in the country in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, their fall campaign has been marred by disappointment.—
Jordy Fee-Platt,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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The run-up to the vote was marred by arrests, intimidation, and disqualifications that left little doubt about the government’s determination to retain power.—
Barney Henderson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cripple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripple. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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