as in to paralyze
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
town councils felt immobilized by the powers newly granted to the state legislation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of immobilize
In a clinical trial, elderly people immobilized by arthritic knees, an impediment that hastens muscle wasting, experienced six-per-cent growth in their leg muscles.
—
Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
As a result, hiring teams are immobilized and, in some cases, unable to effectively deliver.
—Laura Coccaro, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Under city ordinance, a car may be immobilized by a boot after three unpaid parking tickets.
—Tony Plohetski, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
At the age of nine, McLaren was diagnosed with Perthes disease, a rare childhood bone disorder that affected his left hip and forced him to spend more than two years in hospital with his leg immobilized in a traction device.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for immobilize
Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
As a result, hiring teams are immobilized and, in some cases, unable to effectively deliver.
—Laura Coccaro, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Under city ordinance, a car may be immobilized by a boot after three unpaid parking tickets.
—Tony Plohetski, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
At the age of nine, McLaren was diagnosed with Perthes disease, a rare childhood bone disorder that affected his left hip and forced him to spend more than two years in hospital with his leg immobilized in a traction device.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for immobilize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for immobilize
Verb
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Doctors spent several minutes resuscitating Luka before making the difficult decision to use a paralyzing agent to stop him from moving and potentially hurting himself.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
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Without these supports, free-will can feel utterly paralyzing.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Justice Department in its June 2024 report on problems with policing in Phoenix found that police delayed medical assistance to people who appeared to be incapacitated as a result of the use of force by officers and used unreasonable force on people who had already been wounded by officers.—
Elena Santa Cruz,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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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
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Tony and Ziva race to the scene, finding the place crippled by a power outage followed by a ransom request for 115 million Euros.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
4 Sep. 2025
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The last time active-duty military was sent to Chicago against the wishes of local officials was on July 4, 1894, according to the archives of the Chicago Tribune, when a labor dispute at a Pullman factory crippled the nation’s rail industry and resulted in days of rioting.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The problem comes when ideological casting choices begin to undermine the narrative, contravening Grisham’s famously effective structure and pacing.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ten Hag’s first season at United yielded silverware and a third-place league finish, but also had bouts of concerning away form, with tactical weaknesses that would eventually spread and critically undermine his plans for the future.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Immobilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/immobilize. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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