Synonyms of crippling

crippling 1 of 2

noun

as in harm

Related Words

• harm
• mutilation
• injury
• detriment
• disability
• mayhem
• beating
• hurt
• impairment
• damage
• lesion
• disfigurement
• disablement
• rupture
• affliction
• swelling
• defacement
• strain
• abrasion
• wound
• scratch
• contusion
• bruise
• scrape
• concussion
• gash
• burn
• laceration
• chafe
• scar
• bump
• scald
• boo-boo
• cut
• sear
• scathe

Dissimilar Words

• recovery
• healing
• remedy
• cure
• fix

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• incapacitating
• disabling
• damaging
• wounding
• injuring
• bruising
• hurting
• maiming
• scarring
• killing
• mutilating
• paralyzing
• laming
• hitting
• hobbling
• impairing
• battering
• beating
• hamstringing
• disfiguring
• dismembering
• harming
• mangling
• lacerating
• mauling
• murdering
• licking
• winging
• pummeling
• slapping
• pounding
• smashing
• hammering
• torturing
• goring
• bludgeoning
• smacking
• roughing (up)
• buffeting
• punching
• whipping
• thumping
• banging
• tormenting
• whacking
• lashing
• bashing
• boxing
• lambasting
• thrashing
• breaking
• kneecapping
• socking
• drubbing
• pelting
• flogging
• pasting
• swiping
• belting
• swatting
• spanking
• walloping
• lacing
• bunging up
• thwacking
• pommeling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• curing
• healing
• remedying
• rehabilitating
• fixing
• repairing
• patching
• restoring
• mending
• renewing
• doctoring
• rejuvenating

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• damaging
• marring
• injuring
• weakening
• hurting
• compromising
• impairing
• eroding
• breaking
• spoiling
• harming
• disfiguring
• destroying
• undermining
• ruining
• crossing (up)
• vitiating
• defacing
• shattering
• bloodying
• deteriorating
• blemishing
• flawing
• crabbing
• battering
• wounding
• devastating
• endamaging
• enervating
• enfeebling
• wrecking
• blighting
• disabling
• wearing (away)
• crushing
• demolishing
• tarnishing
• denting
• scouring
• torturing
• smashing
• tormenting
• washing out
• maiming
• botching
• wasting
• lacerating
• hamstringing
• mutilating
• annihilating
• decimating
• mangling
• pulverizing
• clobbering
• desolating
• gumming (up)
• wiping out
• totaling
• razing
• bashing
• dinging
• tearing down
• laming
• queering
• dinting
• scourging
• dashing
• doing in
• banging up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repairing
• rebuilding
• fixing
• reconstructing
• helping
• curing
• patching
• healing
• revamping
• reconditioning
• mending
• remedying
• renovating
• rehabilitating
• rectifying
• improving
• revising
• doctoring
• enhancing
• remodeling
• editing
• ameliorating
• refining
• enriching
• perfecting
• bettering
• meliorating

3

as in paralyzing

to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move

a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry

Synonyms & Similar Words

• paralyzing
• undermining
• incapacitating
• disabling
• weakening
• immobilizing
• debilitating
• hamstringing
• undercutting
• sapping
• attenuating
• enervating
• prostrating
• hobbling
• tiring
• enfeebling
• mutilating
• maiming
• laming
• knocking out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• galvanizing
• strengthening
• energizing
• invigorating
• vitalizing
• empowering
• fortifying
• restoring
• reviving
• revitalizing
• regenerating
• rejuvenating
• refreshing
• freshening
• refreshening

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crippling

Noun

This comes as the price of diesel fuel – used to power railroads and the trucking industry – has soared to record highs due to the crippling of refinery production as a result of the wars in Ukraine and Iran. — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026

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

In the days after the ceasefire broke down, the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi shipping, and launched attacks crippling Saudi Arabia’s oil export infrastructure. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

An explosion tore through the Apollo 13 service module, crippling the spacecraft and venting the crew’s oxygen supply into space. — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 3 Oct. 2026

Doing this could, in theory, erase some security concerns, but local governments would have to pay a higher fee to send each envelope and postal workers would have to conduct millions of identity checks, crippling timely delivery. — Jen Fifield, ProPublica, 28 Sep. 2026

Then, after becoming Trojans AD in August 2010, he was tasked with moving the athletic department past crippling NCAA sanctions. — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

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

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