as in paralyzed
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
town councils felt immobilized by the powers newly granted to the state legislation
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in immobile
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of immobilized
Suresh Rajapakse, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 13 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
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
Verb
Almost overnight, companies across the country became immobilized, and face-to-face business models broke down.
—Suresh Rajapakse, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
But, at the time, the news was devastating; Stein-Lobovits spent many months sobbing on the couch, immobilized by loss and fear.
—Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 13 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for immobilized
Verb
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Before recess, the lower chamber was paralyzed over a standoff regarding the Epstein files, when the House Rules Committee failed to tee up any bills for floor votes as the members disagreed over the Epstein files issue.—
Lauren Peller,
ABC News,
2 Sep. 2025
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The climate groups had sued the EPA, Zeldin, and Citibank—which was holding the grant money on behalf of the agency—saying the freeze had paralyzed their operations.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In this model, our planet was covered for its first 2 to 3 billion years by a rigid, immobile outer shell with convection processes occurring beneath it in Earth’s mantle.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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In general, sea anemones are known to keep their tube-like bodies relatively vertical and are considered immobile, researchers said.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
25 Aug. 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 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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In other circumstances, this could have been the story of an ambitious young number one who finds himself in the big chair when his captain is incapacitated, forced to confront his inner demons when an unknown — but extremely powerful — enemy threatens to destroy the Farragut.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Immobilized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/immobilized. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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