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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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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Linda is prepared to take matters into her own hands when Nicky orchestrates a drone attack to incapacitate her, after which Charity pushes Linda off the cliff to her death.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
2 May 2025
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In just one second, the United States is completely incapacitated, thousands are killed, and millions are stranded.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After years of lawsuits and courtroom drama, director Joel Souza (who was also injured in the incident) finished the movie (now in theaters and on demand).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
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The children who were injured in the attack are in the hospital in a stable condition, according to the police report.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
2 May 2025
Verb
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And even in organizations offering robust benefits, many employees don’t access them—paralyzed by fear of stigma, career repercussions, or overwhelm.—
Nell Derick Debevoise,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
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Singer Jeff Becerra was paralyzed in a separate shooting in 1989.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2025
Verb
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In the case of an outage that disables mobile networks, Uplink routers—often backed by batteries or operating on local mesh—can keep neighborhoods connected.—
Sandy Carter,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
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Users can also disable remote administration and reboot their routers to cut off this primary access point.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Suspicious Package Detonated in ‘Controlled Explosion’ Outside U.S. Embassy in London, Say Police Photos from the blast show several storefronts and vehicles damaged from the impact, with the windows blown off.—
Escher Walcott,
People.com,
3 May 2025
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Tyler Adams, the distillery's general manager, says Buffalo Trace has weathered storms before, including a campus-wide flood in 1978 and tornado speed winds damaging multiple buildings in 2006.—
Nicole Sganga,
CBS News,
3 May 2025
Verb
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The current United squad may lack attributes needed for Amorim’s preferred tactical system to thrive, but yesterday exhibited a lack of mental focus that undermined every major action.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
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Since returning to office, Trump has directed his administration to act aggressively against foreign nationals who the Administration has alleged are undermining American interests, particularly in the context of criticism of Israel and campus protests against the war in Gaza.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
9 May 2025
Verb
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But both wound up attending St. Augustine Catholic Seminary boarding school in Michigan, studying at Villanova University in Philadelphia and earning divinity degrees together at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
11 May 2025
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Russian attacks continue Russian shelling in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region over the last day killed three residents and wounded four more, local officials said.—
Samya Kullab,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Sadly, the price of an alternative school was too high, and she was forced to send her children to public schools marred by gang violence and bullying.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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Samantha Lawler, an astronomer at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, says that many of her images are marred by satellites crossing her plane of view.—
Jonathan O'Callaghan,
Scientific American,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cripple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripple. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
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