1
as in to cripple
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a blizzard paralyzed the city for two days
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to intimidate
to deprive of courage or confidence
the school board is paralyzed by the threat of lawsuits for just about everything
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Recent Examples of paralyze
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
The trials were conducted on a group of four participants, which included three individuals without motor impairments as well as one who was paralyzed.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2025
Complications from the nearly five-hour procedure left Miller temporarily paralyzed from the neck down.
—Kelsey Lentz, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025
In February, a jury convicted Delacruz of attempting to murder a pedestrian during a 2021 shooting that left the victim partially paralyzed in San Rafael.
—Cameron MacDonald, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paralyze
Lauren Peller, ABC News, 2 Sep. 2025
The trials were conducted on a group of four participants, which included three individuals without motor impairments as well as one who was paralyzed.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2025
Complications from the nearly five-hour procedure left Miller temporarily paralyzed from the neck down.
—Kelsey Lentz, People.com, 31 Aug. 2025
In February, a jury convicted Delacruz of attempting to murder a pedestrian during a 2021 shooting that left the victim partially paralyzed in San Rafael.
—Cameron MacDonald, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paralyze
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paralyze
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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Assaults by the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club are often committed in order to protect and expand territory, intimidate rivals, conceal members from law enforcement and advance extracurricular criminal projects, according to the 2024 indictment.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, the President can use the National Guard to intimidate blue-state citizens, and no one can stop him; a mogul can shield billions in income from tax; and voters can find their districts redrawn overnight.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
9 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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Judy Hernandez’ husband Raul, a co-founder of the community group the Resurrection Project, dismissed those plans as a political stunt geared to create fear and frighten Spanish-speaking people.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Many of us are conditioned to think that our ultimate goal in life is to be with someone, so much so, that the mere thought of being alone frightens us.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
2 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
Verb
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All of this terrified his father, Charlie, a former cop who had a premonition that something would go wrong.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
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Lewis, the five-star recruit and the people’s choice, looked good handing off and terrified on obvious passing downs.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Israeli strikes severely weakened Hezbollah – culminating in the assassination of its revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah – and significantly curtailed the group’s domestic clout.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
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Symptoms related to Listeria monocytogenes Listeria is especially harmful to people whose immune system is weakened or not fully developed but can also impact healthy individuals.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Yet, at the same time, automation scares people.—
Arthur Azizov,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Parents, scared by the specter of brain damage, are reluctant to let their kids play tackle football.—
Seth Wickersham,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paralyze.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paralyze. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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