as in injured
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1
as in incapacitated
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
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2
as in damaged
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 paralyzed
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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Recent Examples of crippled
Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026
Nashville, where power infrastructure was particularly crippled, is forecast to only reach around 20 degrees while Tupelo could approach 26 degrees.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
The crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft flew a similar circumlunar route, reaching 158 miles beyond the far side of the moon at its most remote remove.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
Some—or all—of that could be crippled if an autonomous agent just completes a transaction and then vanishes.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026
The crippled government is seeking to regain its footing, deploying large numbers of military and paramilitary personnel to secure the capital.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2026
Soon Hatchet was rousting birds out of overgrown creek bottoms and tracking down crippled roosters in cattails.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 24 Dec. 2025
Jamaica’s regional tourism, fishing and agriculture industries – still recovering from Hurricane Beryl a year earlier – were crippled.
—Shannon Gibson, The Conversation, 19 Nov. 2025
The Max program was crippled following two crashes of the planes in 2018 and 2019, which killed all 346 people on the two flights.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Widespread power outages, dilapidated equipment, and a lack of spare parts from absent foreign firms crippled operations.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Mexico has since emerged as Cuba’s single largest external oil supplier, making its role critical for an island already crippled by chronic energy shortages, rolling blackouts and deepening economic stagnation.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2026
Microsoft has found what caused an outage that crippled its services like Outlook and Teams.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
Extreme cost-cutting efforts from Elon Musk’s DOGE crippled entire agencies, including USAID, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
Historically, submarine attacks nearly crippled Britain during World War II.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 19 Jan. 2026
While 3-point shooting was never supposed to be the biggest strength of this team, this team’s inability to knock down outside jumpers has crippled the offense in the past few games.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
However, researchers say the Western sanctions have also crippled Iran’s middle class – the base of the country’s reform movement – who see few opportunities for economic growth.
—Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
In August 2023, a cyberattack crippled operations at Prospect’s facilities around the country.
—Katy Golvala, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2026
Nashville, where power infrastructure was particularly crippled, is forecast to only reach around 20 degrees while Tupelo could approach 26 degrees.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 30 Jan. 2026
The crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft flew a similar circumlunar route, reaching 158 miles beyond the far side of the moon at its most remote remove.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
Some—or all—of that could be crippled if an autonomous agent just completes a transaction and then vanishes.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2026
The crippled government is seeking to regain its footing, deploying large numbers of military and paramilitary personnel to secure the capital.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2026
Soon Hatchet was rousting birds out of overgrown creek bottoms and tracking down crippled roosters in cattails.
—Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 24 Dec. 2025
Jamaica’s regional tourism, fishing and agriculture industries – still recovering from Hurricane Beryl a year earlier – were crippled.
—Shannon Gibson, The Conversation, 19 Nov. 2025
The Max program was crippled following two crashes of the planes in 2018 and 2019, which killed all 346 people on the two flights.
—Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
In 2021, a record-shattering outbreak of cold in Texas crippled the state’s electric grid, a meltdown blamed in large part on failures in its gas infrastructure.
—Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Widespread power outages, dilapidated equipment, and a lack of spare parts from absent foreign firms crippled operations.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Mexico has since emerged as Cuba’s single largest external oil supplier, making its role critical for an island already crippled by chronic energy shortages, rolling blackouts and deepening economic stagnation.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2026
Microsoft has found what caused an outage that crippled its services like Outlook and Teams.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
Extreme cost-cutting efforts from Elon Musk’s DOGE crippled entire agencies, including USAID, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
Historically, submarine attacks nearly crippled Britain during World War II.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 19 Jan. 2026
While 3-point shooting was never supposed to be the biggest strength of this team, this team’s inability to knock down outside jumpers has crippled the offense in the past few games.
—William Guillory, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
However, researchers say the Western sanctions have also crippled Iran’s middle class – the base of the country’s reform movement – who see few opportunities for economic growth.
—Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippled
Adjective
-
Away from billion dollar insurance companies and ride hailing corporations, and onto injured people, working drivers, and taxpayers.—
Phara Souffrant Forrest,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Only 10 players were available to participate in the game, with Tre Jones suiting up as a fail-safe despite the team having no expectation that the injured guard would play.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This is Nissan’s premiere safety tech system, taking over braking and steering like an extra-smart cruise control, or if the driver is impaired or incapacitated.—
Kristin Shaw,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Prior to its passage, nine presidents were at least temporarily incapacitated by health issues and six died, according to Britannica, creating questions around interim leadership and transfer of power.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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No American servicemembers were harmed, and no equipment was damaged during the incident, the statement continued.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Other studies have found a link between strokes that damaged the right uncinate fasciculus with loss of empathy, suggesting this tract somehow regulates emotions that affect moral conduct.—
Christopher M. Filley,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For the cover of the February 2, 2026, issue, the artist Peter de Sève celebrates the brave souls who continue to work when the city is paralyzed by a snowstorm.—
Françoise Mouly,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
No matter that Goetz had severed Cabey’s spinal cord and permanently paralyzed him from the waist down.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Customers are also digging through the drawers for scrap gold and unwanted or broken jewelry.—
Vanessa Yurkevich,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Is this a buying opportunity or a broken narrative?—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Senegal -- The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on an air force base in Niger's capital that wounded four soldiers and damaged an aircraft.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Roughly 20,000 sick and wounded Palestinians need treatment outside Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The annual loss for California marked the first yearly decline for the state since March 2021, according to the EDD, a period marred by severe job losses that arose from an array of business shutdowns and economic dislocations as a result of the pandemic.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Geothermal energy solutions have been around for a while, though, and have been marred by location specificity, high water usage, and high initial costs.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
When the researchers disabled the Cyst-C pathway, this seemingly protective effect vanished.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
29 Jan. 2026
-
But while these cannot be disabled electronically, their range is limited by the length of the cable.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippled. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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