1
as in cripples
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a blizzard paralyzed the city for two days
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in frightens
to deprive of courage or confidence
the school board is paralyzed by the threat of lawsuits for just about everything
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of paralyzes
The smaller wasp quickly stings the spider, injecting its powerful venom that does not kill but permanently paralyzes it.
—
Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Focusing Only On What’s Happening Now Uncertainty paralyzes innovation.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025
Focusing Only On What’s Happening Now Uncertainty paralyzes innovation.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paralyzes
Verb
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An ongoing alien siege cripples the world’s militaries, infrastructure, and communication centers but Will can run Premiere Pro, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and remote control a Tesla all at the same time.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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 moped-like sound of the Shaheds whooshing above the rooftops still unsettles but no longer terrifies.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
18 May 2025
Verb
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Cherry-picking statistics to suit a narrative — a form of confirmation bias, as described in the commission’s view — is dangerous and undermines the diligence that should come from responsible statistical analysis.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
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Going back further undermines those comparisons.—
John S. Tobey,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But for both actors, their horror movies are more about love than scares.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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Slurp scares, and is scared, at the Haunted Hacienda in Pilgrim World.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Bottom line—moving Space Command headquarters weakens our national security at the worst possible time.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
3 Sep. 2025
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If employees rely on tools only for quick answers, curiosity weakens.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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After Wednesday disables the machine with an axe, Isaac’s ability no longer works, and Thing attacks him.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
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To be specific, this mode disables custom actions, changes backlighting to a single color, and prevents profile switching.—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The moped-like sound of the Shaheds whooshing above the rooftops still unsettles but no longer terrifies.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paralyzes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paralyzes. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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