1
as in incapacitates
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 injures
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the collision so severely crippled the ship that it had to be towed into port
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in paralyzes
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cripples
In the final version of the film, Furiosa captures Dementus, cripples him, brings him back to the Citadel.
—
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport.
—Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Second, this ambiguity around responsibility cripples an organization’s ability to respond effectively.
—Nelson Lim, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
—Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
This inefficiency is invisible during small-scale development tests but completely cripples an application’s performance under the heavy load of a real production environment.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
An ongoing alien siege cripples the world’s militaries, infrastructure, and communication centers but Will can run Premiere Pro, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and remote control a Tesla all at the same time.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2025
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport.
—Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.
—Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Second, this ambiguity around responsibility cripples an organization’s ability to respond effectively.
—Nelson Lim, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
—Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
This inefficiency is invisible during small-scale development tests but completely cripples an application’s performance under the heavy load of a real production environment.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
An ongoing alien siege cripples the world’s militaries, infrastructure, and communication centers but Will can run Premiere Pro, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and remote control a Tesla all at the same time.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cripples
Verb
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The Martian tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, who becomes stranded on Mars after a dust storm incapacitates him.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
28 May 2026
-
Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Who is responsible when a robot breaks something or injures someone?—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
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This storyline later appeared in the second season of Girls, as Dunham’s character Hannah is overwhelmed with the anxiety of writing a novel and similarly injures herself.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In fact, too much choice often paralyzes decision-making.—
David Meade,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
-
Once an octopus ambushes and bites its prey, the venom in its saliva paralyzes the prey, allowing the octopus to consume it.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But the virus that causes Ebola somehow disables this response.—
Jonathan Lambert,
NPR,
2 June 2026
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Recently, researchers in Germany developed a chain-launching drone interceptor that disables UAVs by tangling their spinning rotors midair.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Dana Sue and Ronnie's strained relationship is exasperated by a fire that breaks out — accelerated by off-brand e-bikes Ronnie bought behind Dana Sue’s back and stored in their garage — and damages their house.—
Francesca Gariano,
PEOPLE,
13 June 2026
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Roslovic’s poor playoff showing severely damages his chances of earning an extension with the Oilers for next season and of a sizable deal elsewhere.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Verb
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The Big 12 also has its own sports betting policy that forbids coaches, staff and athletes from engaging in sports wagering activity that undermines the integrity of games.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
15 June 2026
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Progressives across the country have spent years arguing that unlimited outside spending distorts democracy, empowers wealthy interests, and undermines trust in government.—
Julie Won,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
Verb
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Chops, gouges, wounds it like the shadow grooves on the sidewalks—the sun is setting earlier.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
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Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No sadness mars the purity of its paranoia.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
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However, an earnestness mars most of the proceedings.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cripples.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripples. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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