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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crippled
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
In 1970, the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft flew a similar route, reaching 158 miles beyond the far side of the moon at its most remote remove.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 2 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
The unusually large protest crippled traffic in the heart of the Belgian capital, blocking major roads.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Had his dad not sensed something and dialed 911, Andrew, a star baseball player turned gambling addict in college, would have quietly checked out at age 33, leaving his twin infant sons, his guilt-crippled parents, and many thousands of dollars in gambling debts behind.
—Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025
Mitchell McCluskey, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Except as soon as Guhle began skating on his own and ramping up his preparation, as soon as Xhekaj’s spot in the lineup appeared to be in imminent danger, as soon as the conditions that previously crippled him were beginning to manifest, his game improved.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
In Wrightwood, the recent torrential rainfall delivered devastating mudslides that have crippled the mountain town.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
The pioneering college opened in 1885 and weathered difficult times early on, as the infamous winter freeze of 1894 destroyed orange groves throughout the state and crippled a key revenue source for Rollins, Lane wrote in his history of the school.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
The protests come amid soaring inflation in Iran following years of sanctions from the United States and other nations that have crippled Iran's economy.
—Joey Garrison, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
Its economy was crippled by war debt.
—Caleb Pomeroy, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2025
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
Five-year deals instead of three-year contracts are under consideration in the wake of the 2023 strikes, which for months crippled top companies in the entertainment industry.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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
In 1970, the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft flew a similar route, reaching 158 miles beyond the far side of the moon at its most remote remove.
—Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 2 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
The unusually large protest crippled traffic in the heart of the Belgian capital, blocking major roads.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Had his dad not sensed something and dialed 911, Andrew, a star baseball player turned gambling addict in college, would have quietly checked out at age 33, leaving his twin infant sons, his guilt-crippled parents, and many thousands of dollars in gambling debts behind.
—Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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
Except as soon as Guhle began skating on his own and ramping up his preparation, as soon as Xhekaj’s spot in the lineup appeared to be in imminent danger, as soon as the conditions that previously crippled him were beginning to manifest, his game improved.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
In Wrightwood, the recent torrential rainfall delivered devastating mudslides that have crippled the mountain town.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
The pioneering college opened in 1885 and weathered difficult times early on, as the infamous winter freeze of 1894 destroyed orange groves throughout the state and crippled a key revenue source for Rollins, Lane wrote in his history of the school.
—Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
The protests come amid soaring inflation in Iran following years of sanctions from the United States and other nations that have crippled Iran's economy.
—Joey Garrison, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
Its economy was crippled by war debt.
—Caleb Pomeroy, Foreign Affairs, 24 Dec. 2025
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 136 miles northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Dec. 2025
Five-year deals instead of three-year contracts are under consideration in the wake of the 2023 strikes, which for months crippled top companies in the entertainment industry.
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 22 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippled
Adjective
-
Donovan Mitchell had 35 points and nine assists, Darius Garland scored 20 points before leaving with an injured foot and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 133-107 on Wednesday night.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The shelter also had problems serving the existing community, taking in fewer animals due to difficulties moving them through adoption or rescue, and placing greater emphasis on caring for sick or injured animals.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Munoz-Guatemala was not incapacitated by the Taser, prosecutors said, and kept driving, taking Ross the length of a football field in 12 seconds.—
Ryan J. Foley,
Fortune,
9 Jan. 2026
-
With Macklin Good incapacitated, the car then careens to the side of the road, crashing into a parked car.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The 13 apartments were damaged by fire, smoke or water.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
7 Jan. 2026
-
But overloading the dishwasher can result in dirty dishes that need to be put through a second cycle to get clean, and dishes that are crammed in may become damaged.—
Elizabeth Brownfield,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Hawking’s work on the physics of black holes helped reshape the scientific understanding of the universe, even after being diagnosed with a motor neuron disease also known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, early in life that gradually paralyzed him.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Economists have attributed this to high uncertainty (in part due to massive shifts in trade and immigration policy) that has paralyzed much business investment.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Dispose of broken or outdated items.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The 41-year-old suffered a broken pelvis and sustained fractures to both femurs and three ribs, as well as a compound fracture to his right shin.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The driver was shot and wounded, and the passenger was injured when the van crashed seconds later, according to the original statement from DHS.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The attack in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region also wounded 10 people, local authorities said.—
Illia Novikov,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Ugandan authorities implemented an internet blackout ahead of the 2021 election, which was marred by pre-election violence and rights abuses, according to observers.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The process has been marred by complaints about its slow pace and by concerns over the physical condition of some of those freed after years in detention.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Two years ago, when Google Gemini generated images of racially diverse Nazis, Google temporarily disabled the bot’s image-generating capabilities to address the problem.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2026
-
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,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crippled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippled. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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