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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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
The administration is threatening to seize more tankers going forward, potentially further crippling the Venezuelan economy.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2025
Since then, they've been forced to work remotely — at a time when the government was doling out return-to-office mandates — preventing access to labs and crippling the center's mission of embedding NASA climate scientists within international academia.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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
The administration is threatening to seize more tankers going forward, potentially further crippling the Venezuelan economy.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2025
Since then, they've been forced to work remotely — at a time when the government was doling out return-to-office mandates — preventing access to labs and crippling the center's mission of embedding NASA climate scientists within international academia.
—Josh Dinner, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
Noun
-
Kuhl said last year that jurors should have the chance to consider whether design features implemented by the companies, like endlessly scrolling feeds, have contributed to mental health harms, rather than content alone.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
The vast majority of baby foods, drinks and snacks sold in the United States for children ages 6 months to 36 months are ultraprocessed and may contain additives increasingly linked to potential health harms, a new study found.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
11 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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McCarthy warned that being too quick to bring untested criminal cases against political adversaries risks damaging institutional legitimacy regardless of which party is in power.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Feb. 2026
-
This will keep other items from damaging the leather, as well as keep it dust free.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Because of the paralyzing fear caused by their operation, small businesses whose customer bases and workforces include immigrant community members temporarily closed due to the sharp drop in customers and fear that their businesses would be subject to CBP raids.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
-
McDonald was only 20 months on the job when a 15-year-old suspect, Shavod Jones, opened fire on him in Central Park on July 12, 1986, striking McDonald in the face, neck and wrist, and paralyzing him instantly.—
Barry Williams,
New York Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, Jimmy offers humanity a very different kind of charity in the form of ritualistic mutilation.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Erby was also convicted of mutilation and five counts of burglary with the allegation he was armed with a deadly weapon.—
Christine Pelisek,
PEOPLE,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Louisville beat its Boulder County neighbor to the punch by several months, disabling its Flock cameras at the end of June and removing them by the start of October.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Additional options allow toggling Anisotropic Materials, Chromatic Aberration, and Bloom, and disabling Global Illumination entirely.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
3 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
-
Broad political characterizations oversimplify complex legal processes and risk undermining confidence in an independent judiciary.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Adding Medicaid work-reporting requirements to this already fragile balancing act risks undermining the system that makes aging in the community possible.—
Emily D. Tisdale,
STAT,
12 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Crippling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippling. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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