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
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 Crucially, the strike targeted a critical AVT-6 distillation unit, potentially crippling the refinery's entire 12 million tons/year capacity,. — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 The fall broke both his legs, crippling him. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 14 June 2026 The Ukrainian military sank several Russian warships in the Black Sea and at their Crimean bases, crippling Moscow’s naval capability and forcing it to redeploy its fleet to Novorossiysk. — ABC News, 11 June 2026 However, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller — who lost the recent Republican primary to a candidate backed by Abbott — said the federal response will take too long and risks crippling the cattle industry. — Jeffrey Collins, Fortune, 9 June 2026 Anxiety over ChatGPT and other emerging technology helped derail talks with both unions and the AMPTP in 2023, leading to crippling dual strikes. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 31 May 2026 But, in a separate incident reported by Reuters, it was revealed that Musk did cut service in eastern Ukraine around the same time, crippling a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson. — Ben Tarnoff, Big Think, 23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
  1. harm
  2. incapacitating
  3. damaging
  4. paralyzing
  5. mutilation
  6. disabling
  7. marring
  8. undermining
Noun
  • For Pacific nations, nuclear testing in particular recalls historical harm.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • The precise magnitude of harms remains debated, but uncertainty is not an argument for inaction.
    — Paul Jester, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
Definition of harm
Verb
  • 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
  • Tabitha grabs one of the weird, spooky totem things and drives it through the chest of the scarecrow monster attacking Donna, killing it – or at least incapacitating it – and the scarecrows retreat.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Definition of incapacitating
Verb
  • The alternative, digging it up, risks damaging cultural sites.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • The effect has been especially damaging on corals, oysters, and free-swimming snails and slugs.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 9 July 2026
Definition of damaging
Verb
  • Though brief, Yoon’s martial law declaration plunged South Korea into a political crisis, paralyzing politics and high-level diplomacy while rattling financial markets.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • With endless criteria, knowing exactly what to ask for from a pair of jean shorts is paralyzing.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 25 June 2026
Definition of paralyzing
Noun
  • The killings were engineered to terrify the remaining Poles into fleeing westward, so extensive documentation was spread of the accompanying torture and mutilation.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 June 2026
  • Based on more than 430 testimonies, thousands of visual records, and years of investigation, the report details rape, torture, mutilation, forced nudity, and sexualized brutality carried out deliberately and systematically.
    — Rabbi Josh Weinberg, Sun Sentinel, 2 June 2026
Definition of mutilation
Verb
  • But things are going to be missed, and Bungie now has to take drastic steps of disabling some gear, or aspects of gear, permanently, rather than being able to have the time and testing to fix or rebalance them.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • That said, Amazon also has a history of disabling apps that let users circumnavigate its home screen that Fire devices, including Fire Sticks and Fire TVs, have increasingly used for ads.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026
Definition of disabling
Verb
  • 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
  • In Strasbourg, groups of Palace supporters clashed among themselves in a square in the city centre, marring the occasion.
    — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 28 May 2026
Definition of marring
Verb
  • Opposition parties and human rights organizations have accused Erdogan of undermining democracy and curbing freedom of expression.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • Allies include Brin’s Building a Better California, which is bankrolling two counter-measures aimed at undermining the billionaire tax.
    — Ben Paviour July 2, Sacbee.com, 2 July 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 11 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of crippling for Spanish Speakers

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