as in harm
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crippling
Brian Bennett, Time, 28 Feb. 2026
Karl Vick, Time, 28 Feb. 2026
So if half that tariff money goes away, that will mean a larger, but not crippling federal deficit.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 21 Feb. 2026
The department blamed Congress for a sudden $120 million shortfall, but the Herald/Times reported this week that the department’s own actions are crippling the program.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026
With temperatures well into the teens and 20s, the ice storm on the southern side will be crippling in terms of travel conditions, trees and power outages.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Continue reading … ‘BACK TO COVID’ – Minnesota restaurant owners say ICE enforcement is crippling their businesses.
—FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Both have endured crippling US sanctions that have precipitated economic collapses.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 7 Jan. 2026
None of that was fearful because fear of the unknown, like fear of, showing up in a situation and not knowing what's gonna happen is like, that's a thing that's like crippling to adults and definitely crippling to teenagers.
—Outside Online, 31 Dec. 2025
Operating in packs, Germany’s submarines successfully sank countless Allied merchant vessels, nearly crippling the supply chains that sustained the United Kingdom.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
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
After June 2025, when Israel (for 12 days) and the United States (for one) launched strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear program and decapitating the IRGC leadership, Khamenei curtailed public appearances.
—Karl Vick, Time, 28 Feb. 2026
So if half that tariff money goes away, that will mean a larger, but not crippling federal deficit.
—Nina Totenberg, NPR, 21 Feb. 2026
The department blamed Congress for a sudden $120 million shortfall, but the Herald/Times reported this week that the department’s own actions are crippling the program.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026
With temperatures well into the teens and 20s, the ice storm on the southern side will be crippling in terms of travel conditions, trees and power outages.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Continue reading … ‘BACK TO COVID’ – Minnesota restaurant owners say ICE enforcement is crippling their businesses.
—FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Both have endured crippling US sanctions that have precipitated economic collapses.
—Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 7 Jan. 2026
None of that was fearful because fear of the unknown, like fear of, showing up in a situation and not knowing what's gonna happen is like, that's a thing that's like crippling to adults and definitely crippling to teenagers.
—Outside Online, 31 Dec. 2025
Operating in packs, Germany’s submarines successfully sank countless Allied merchant vessels, nearly crippling the supply chains that sustained the United Kingdom.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
Noun
-
Critics warn the transfers will confuse schools and harm students, arguing agencies lack educational expertise.—
Annie Ma,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
-
And continue to pray for the safety of the law enforcement community who are attempting to take the suspect into custody, and that no further law enforcement or innocent bystanders will be in harms way.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Larter's Angela has been put through the wringer on the second season of Landman, from getting into an explosive battle with Thornton's Tommy over her period to getting arrested for incapacitating two health inspectors during a visit to her local nursing home.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Dysentery and scurvy ravaged the vessel, killing or incapacitating many on board.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Strikes have continued throughout the weekend, killing civilians, damaging property and bringing air and water traffic to a standstill.—
Frederik Pleitgen,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
-
The death toll rose to 22 on Saturday from the crash of a military plane carrying 18 tons of new banknotes a day earlier near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles and scattering bills on the ground, a police commander said Saturday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Though brief, Yoon’s martial law decree triggered the country’s most severe political crisis in decades, paralyzing politics and high-level diplomacy and rattling financial markets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
-
The differences between the two major models, along with other forecast guidance, equates to the difference between a paralyzing blizzard along the I-95 corridor and a largely forgettable bout of light snow.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That same day, Maxwell Anderson was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, and arson.—
Lauren A. White,
CBS News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Meanwhile, Jimmy offers humanity a very different kind of charity in the form of ritualistic mutilation.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Knuckling under the pressure to do something about this, Congress eventually passed a law that essentially denied such benefits to anyone whose only disabling condition was drug addiction or alcoholism.—
Tom Margenau,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Mar. 2026
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Even if the rates of death and disabling disease remain roughly the same, as case numbers grow, so too will the absolute amount of suffering.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The demoralizing graffiti marring the main entrance to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 360 Lenox Ave.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
12 Feb. 2026
-
Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate, along with Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, were ejected for fighting, marring what was an intriguing game between the top team in the Eastern Conference and the one featuring the NBA’s longest current win streak.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The challenge for policymakers will be to curb misleading promotion without cutting off patients’ access to reliable information or undermining their role in directing their own care – and that will likely require addressing broader issues in the health care system.—
Anna Chorniy,
The Conversation,
27 Feb. 2026
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In the run-up to the midterm elections later this year, Kennedy appears to be shifting his focus from undermining the childhood-vaccine schedule—his least popular priority, according to one recent poll—to battling the food industry, which enjoys broad support.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crippling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippling. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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