paralyzed 1 of 2

adjective

ˈper-ə-ˌlīzd How to pronounce paralyzed (audio)
Definition of paralyzednext
1
as in disabled
affected with paralysis special ramps for paralyzed people in wheelchairs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in helpless
unable to act or achieve one's purpose a seemingly paralyzed mayor sat by as the city's crime rate soared

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paralyzed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of paralyze
1
as in crippled
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move a blizzard paralyzed the city for two days

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2
as in frightened
to deprive of courage or confidence the school board is paralyzed by the threat of lawsuits for just about everything

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of paralyzed
Adjective
Soft grip technology The soft pneumatic hand exoskeleton is designed to restore grasping ability for people with paralyzed hands. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026 The waves will carry the paralyzed bodies to the shore, and even dead jellyfish have been known to sting. — New Atlas, 30 June 2026
Verb
The drug cocktail then allegedly paralyzed the respiratory muscles. — ABC News, 8 July 2026 According to Villafaña, the intelligence officers guarding the deportees were paralyzed after the earthquake. — Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for paralyzed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paralyzed
  1. disabled
  2. helpless
  3. crippled
  4. frightened
  5. paralytic
  6. weak
  7. incapacitated
  8. terrified
Adjective
  • Too many products slap the label on without including disabled people anywhere in development or testing, treating accessibility as an add-on rather than a design requirement.
    — Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • When scientists temporarily disabled mole-rats’ olfactory sensory neurons with chemicals, the aggression towards strangers disappeared.
    — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026
Definition of disabled
Adjective
  • While he’s been fighting in Troy, his palace has been overrun by men who want to marry his faithful wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and murder his helpless son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • The grandfather is seen running around a few trees, but the bison soon catches up and tosses the helpless visitor eight feet in the air.
    — Suzanne Yeo, ABC News, 13 July 2026
Definition of helpless
Verb
  • Russia has been doing this since the start of the war, terrorizing Ukrainian cities with aerial assaults that have killed thousands of civilians and crippled much of the country’s energy grid for months on end.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 15 July 2026
  • Data loss via staff cuts Widespread staff cuts starting in early 2025 across the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the CDC, crippled much of the agency’s data collection and dissemination.
    — John Kubale, The Conversation, 8 July 2026
Definition of crippled
Verb
  • In those moments, what frightened her most was not her own safety but the knowledge that her husband was up there somewhere, flying in the same sky swarming with fighter planes dropping their bombs on Tehran.
    — Mahsa Alimardani, Time, 6 July 2026
  • At the time of writing, as the Marine Traffic map shows, tanker traffic is barely moving through the Strait, and many ships, unable to obtain insurance or with their owners frightened at the level of risk involved, are refusing to advance.
    — Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • Assuming that the account in her journal is true, her father goes out and drinks himself into a ‘paralytic’ state.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
  • He was injected with the three-drug mix of an anesthetic, a paralytic and potassium acetate, which stops the heart.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of paralytic
Adjective
  • Even durable bouclé material won’t save a sofa built on a weak foundation.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
  • Further, the hinge mechanism provides a bit more assistance, and the magnets are a bit weaker, reducing the force needed to open the phone by half.
    — Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 22 July 2026
Definition of weak
Verb
  • Videos shared on social media show one of the injured was left incapacitated on the floor, surrounded by insulation.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 21 July 2026
  • Many department policies tell officers to move out of the way of a vehicle rather than shoot because of the potential harm to bystanders who could be struck by unintended gunfire or by a careening vehicle if the driver is incapacitated.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
Definition of incapacitated
Verb
  • While some car companies have lobbied the government, terrified, asking to build protective walls to fend off cheap Chinese competition, others have looked at the problem from a different angle, trying to meet the moment.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026
  • Sebastian Krautz went viral on NBC10 Boston this week after admitting he was initially terrified to travel to the United States because of news about crime and safety.
    — Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 4 July 2026
Definition of terrified

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Cite this Entry

“Paralyzed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paralyzed. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on paralyzed

Nglish: Translation of paralyzed for Spanish Speakers

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