crippling 1 of 2

noun

as in harm

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crippling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of cripple
1
as in incapacitating
to cause severe or permanent injury to the car crash may have crippled two people for life

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2
as in damaging
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 paralyzing
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crippling
Noun
The 12-day barrage came on the back of a series of setbacks for Iran’s leaders, including the crippling of its regional allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. — Brian Bennett, Time, 28 Feb. 2026
Verb
And the high pay they’re being offered as a lure is crippling the economy. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 15 Aug. 2026 Trump claims the United States has opened the strait to all commercial ships other than those from Iran, crippling Iran's economy because of its reliance on oil exports. — Joey Garrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026 Strikes over unpaid salaries, violent attacks on clinics and public mistrust fueled by misinformation are crippling fragile response efforts, as workers like Bondele keep showing up. — Prosper Heri Ngorora, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 Malawi, an African nation, faced severe 18-hour blackouts after Tropical Storm Ana destroyed a major hydropower dam in 2022, crippling its grid and highlighting reliance on intermittent solar and expensive diesel. — Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 That tracks with earlier reports about Iran’s president and central bank chief telling Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei the initial blockade was crippling the economy. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026 Florida didn’t have the cap space to work out the shorter term deal without crippling its ability to make other moves this offseason to enhance the roster. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026 Eddie Marsan also delivers a sympathetic turn as the sad sack dad worn down by the effects of capitalism and sometimes crippling OCD. — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026 The fall broke both his legs, crippling him. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 14 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
  1. harm
  2. incapacitating
  3. damaging
  4. paralyzing
  5. mutilation
  6. disabling
  7. marring
  8. undermining
Noun
  • Earlier this year, an open letter from agency leadership warned against using federal funds to buy harm reduction supplies like sterile syringes and pipes, or to distribute test strips for common drug supply contaminants.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The harm caused by the delays spurred immigration attorneys and advocates in the state to send a letter to Chief Judge Sul Ozerden in March about the habeas bottleneck.
    — Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of harm
Verb
  • All that before disorienting and incapacitating a potential school shooter in about a minute.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The driver hits Leatherface in the head with a wrench, incapacitating him long enough for the driver to run away and Sally to jump into the cab of a passing pickup truck.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 July 2026
Definition of incapacitating
Verb
  • Importantly, all of this imaging was possible without damaging Scotty’s priceless fossils.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Smaller glass shards likely won’t cause symptoms, but bigger pieces with sharp edges run the risk of damaging the throat, stomach and intestines, according to the National Capital Poison Center.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of damaging
Verb
  • National Guardsmen marched in the paralyzing heat, which, along with the shadows cast by a revolving sculpture in the courtyard, suggested the eerie calm before the gunfight in a Western.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Responsible deployment does not require paralyzing every use case.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of paralyzing
Noun
  • Ivey was arrested as a result of the investigation and charged with capital rape, first degree domestic battery, unlawful female mutilation of a minor and first degree terroristic threatening, the post said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Several of the remains were face down with their hands and feet bound, while others discovered there showed signs of mutilation or decapitation.
    — Latoya Gayle, PEOPLE, 26 July 2026
Definition of mutilation
Verb
  • For the majority of people with schizophrenia, however, the condition is persistent, disabling and isolating.
    — Matthew Kurtz, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Iran targeted that base with a missile attack, partly disabling it.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of disabling
Verb
  • To prevent a similar war from happening again, Menelaus scarred her face, permanently marring her famous beauty.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
  • Lined with live oaks and old-fashioned, busy storefronts, this artsy town on the Gulf of Mexico has no commercial development marring its shoreline.
    — Valerie Fraser Luesse, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
Definition of marring
Verb
  • The same practices that have allowed the Kremlin to relentlessly tighten its political control are also undermining the state’s capacity to govern.
    — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
  • As to alleged contempt, the siblings could argue that exploration of a sale of the team should not count as evidence of undermining the 2017 court order.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of undermining

Browse Nearby Words

cripples
crippling
cris de coeur
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Cite this Entry

“Crippling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippling. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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