1
as in incapacitating
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in harm
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
Paul Newman, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
While many may worry that lending financial support to their children may be crippling them or enabling them, nearly 77% of the parents surveyed do so with some kind of stipulation or contingency.
—Essence, 19 Sep. 2025
Deadly floods in Asia have devastated crops, crippling already fragile food production.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Thomas’ absence has been crippling for the Giants in recent years.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
More importantly, if just one lock were disabled or destroyed, the passage from east to west would be essentially inoperable, crippling the United States and its military defenses.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
The accumulation of beta amyloid soaks up more and more lithium, further crippling the brain’s ability to clear it away.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
Perreira agrees that the financial imbalance in the game is crippling West Indies.
—Paul Newman, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
While many may worry that lending financial support to their children may be crippling them or enabling them, nearly 77% of the parents surveyed do so with some kind of stipulation or contingency.
—Essence, 19 Sep. 2025
Deadly floods in Asia have devastated crops, crippling already fragile food production.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Thomas’ absence has been crippling for the Giants in recent years.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
More importantly, if just one lock were disabled or destroyed, the passage from east to west would be essentially inoperable, crippling the United States and its military defenses.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
The accumulation of beta amyloid soaks up more and more lithium, further crippling the brain’s ability to clear it away.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
Verb
-
While the name suggests something far more trivial, significant damage to the ligaments of the metatarsophalangeal joint can be incapacitating.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
To write one’s way out of the incapacitating dependence of daughterhood into autonomy means shedding the unquestioning fidelity of a child.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
That damaging psychic weight of insecurity and self-blame seeps into our society and politics, where polls show a stubborn and longtime trend of declining faith in a better future.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Several police officers reported that rioters were forcibly removing and damaging their equipment.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Discipline without optimism is paralyzing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Shortly after Henry’s death, Augusta suffered two paralyzing strokes, intensifying her and Ed’s isolated, co-dependent relationship before her death in 1945.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Perhaps most worrisome, studies had already suggested that the chemical caused serious harm to people and lab animals.—
Sharon Lerner,
ProPublica,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Those living unsheltered suffer preventable harms such as frostbite and heatstroke in Colorado’s climate of extremes.—
Sarah Stella,
The Conversation,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Given the biological similarities between humans and naked mole-rats, the scientists believe so, equipping us with the ability to protect our genome from damage, disabling our cGAS from inhibiting the repair process.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Because fiber-optic drones are harder to produce, they are typically reserved for high-value strikes or for disabling jamming systems to clear the way for cheaper FPVs.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Including playoffs, Mayfield turned the ball over more than anyone else from 2023 through 2024, marring an otherwise fantastic two seasons in Tampa Bay.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
An optional front rack on both models adds instant utility without marring the retro-fantastic looks.—
William Roberson,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And this misapplication, whether through inappropriate comparisons and limited context, or a disregard for methodological boundaries, risks undermining both consumer and stakeholder trust in sustainability claims and data integrity—and misleading investments and interventions.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Examples of creative destruction include e-commerce disrupting retail, streaming services replacing videocassette and DVD rentals and internet advertising undermining newspaper advertising.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Schabusiness was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder, rape and mutilation back in 2023.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Jonathan Renteria was arrested on Sept. 11 and was charged with murder and the mutilation of human remains.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crippling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippling. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share