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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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
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Recent Examples of crippling
Brian Bennett, Time, 28 Feb. 2026
Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
All three largely believe the war caused the high gas and grocery prices that are crippling the nation’s economy.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026
This creates permanent skin damage around the well, fundamentally destroying its natural permeability and crippling its long-term productivity.
—Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
In Syria, Israeli strikes killed senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, crippling Iran’s coördination and control.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
So, in June last year, the president seized the moment by crippling Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
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
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
Confidence in Israel’s ability to seriously damage Iran’s nuclear program has slipped from 62% to 48%; expectations of crippling its ballistic missile arsenal have dropped from 73% to 57%.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
All three largely believe the war caused the high gas and grocery prices that are crippling the nation’s economy.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2026
This creates permanent skin damage around the well, fundamentally destroying its natural permeability and crippling its long-term productivity.
—Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
In Syria, Israeli strikes killed senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, crippling Iran’s coördination and control.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
So, in June last year, the president seized the moment by crippling Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
Noun
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The third would allow survivors of coerced debt to formally challenge such obligations with a creditor, and the last would create a program to help survivors get home security to protect themselves from future harm.—
Lauren Linder,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
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The Center for Disease Control will serve as an independent validator for the methods that are developed, and the research will then yield a risk stratification mechanism for plastic materials ranking them by biological harm.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The defendant at the trial, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, argued that its policy covered only losses resulting from a medically verified, incapacitating illness.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
10 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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An asteroid the size of a house exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk with the force of 440,000 tons of TNT, damaging buildings and injuring more than 1,600 people, according to NASA.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
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The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building.—
Sam Mednick,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At age 14, Arias was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival gangs, paralyzing him from the waist down.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
8 Mar. 2026
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In a region where weather swings from paralyzing ice storms to scorching summers, these elements carry weight.—
Mary Grace Granados
Special Contributor,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The bill would make genital mutilation of a girl under age 18 a class D felony.—
Emilia Otte,
Hartford Courant,
12 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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The Navy deployed carbon-fiber warheads on Tomahawk missiles in the opening hours of the 1991 Gulf War, disabling roughly 85% of Iraq’s electricity supply.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
6 Apr. 2026
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The kind that the Iranians have had no problem so far either disabling or deterring with firepower from drones.—
Rachel Marsden,
Hartford Courant,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ancient lava fields can be seen as dark lunar maria marring the silvery lunar surface, which themselves are threaded with bright streaks of reflective debris strewn across the surface by violent asteroid strikes.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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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
Verb
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Common topics of health misinformation include false claims about vaccines, promoting remedies that are not supported by science and undermining scientific understanding about the causes of different health issues.—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
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Experts say multinationals and foreign investors still want a share of India's consumption story — but the country's inability to create more white-collar jobs is undermining that narrative.—
Priyanka Salve,
CNBC,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crippling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippling. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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