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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Recent Examples of immobilize
As the machines thunder down the track, momentum causes the weight-box to slide across the trailer until the balance shifts so much that the sled digs into the ground and the back tires lift, immobilizing it.
—
Zach Jaworski, NPR, 18 Aug. 2025
After he was immobilized, officers shocked him multiple times with a stun gun, according to the lawsuit.
—Christina Hall, Freep.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Freshman tight end Jacob Alvarez is also among the injured, wearing a cast on his right arm that immobilized his thumb.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
People avoided crowded places during epidemics, and hospital wards filled with children encased in iron lungs after the virus immobilized their breathing muscles.
—CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for immobilize
Zach Jaworski, NPR, 18 Aug. 2025
After he was immobilized, officers shocked him multiple times with a stun gun, according to the lawsuit.
—Christina Hall, Freep.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Freshman tight end Jacob Alvarez is also among the injured, wearing a cast on his right arm that immobilized his thumb.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
People avoided crowded places during epidemics, and hospital wards filled with children encased in iron lungs after the virus immobilized their breathing muscles.
—CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for immobilize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for immobilize
Verb
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The role is particularly noteworthy considering Dane announced earlier this year that he was diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that gradually paralyzes the body by destroying the nerve cells that control muscle movement.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
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The demonstrations come as the federal government enters its 18th day of shutdown, which has paralyzed federal programs and services while testing the constitutional balance of power.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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He is accused of slipping incapacitating drugs into victims’ food or drinks before assaulting them between 2021 and 2024.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
16 Oct. 2025
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In still other situations, lapses in common knowledge can incapacitate people who really, really need to work together.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans and crippling much of the Pacific Fleet.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Oct. 2025
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Sanctions have crippled the government’s primary source of revenue, oil exports, limiting the state’s ability to provide for millions of impoverished Iranians through social safety nets.—
Leila Gharagozlou,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the view of many faculty members, Baccarelli had undermined the public position Harvard spent months cultivating—as a beacon of academic integrity, unwilling to bend to the administration’s political pressure.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
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Even before the shutdown gripped Washington, there were mounting Democratic complaints that Trump would undermine any government funding deals struck by Congress with his use of pocket rescissions, aimed at canceling spending unilaterally at the end of a fiscal year.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Immobilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/immobilize. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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