paralyzing

verb

present participle of paralyze
1
as in crippling
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 frightening
to deprive of courage or confidence the school board is paralyzed by the threat of lawsuits for just about everything

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 paralyzing Though brief, Yoon’s martial law declaration plunged South Korea into a political crisis, paralyzing politics and high-level diplomacy while rattling financial markets. — ABC News, 9 July 2026 With endless criteria, knowing exactly what to ask for from a pair of jean shorts is paralyzing. — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 25 June 2026 His grief was crushing, paralyzing, calamitous. — Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026 The tiniest decisions were paralyzing. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 Barricades erected on key roads have essentially isolated the city of La Paz, Bolivia’s seat of government, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals. — Paola Flores, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026 Not vague discomfort, but deep, paralyzing fear. — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 The disease can be paralyzing, or even fatal. — Ciara McCarthy 15, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2026 Moorehead has followed Clark’s story from 2000, when the running back for Eisenhower High School suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in a game through his death in 2012. — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paralyzing
  1. crippling
  2. frightening
  3. incapacitating
  4. terrifying
  5. undermining
  6. intimidating
  7. disabling
  8. scaring
Verb
  • Florida didn’t have the cap space to work out the shorter term deal without crippling its ability to make other moves this offseason to enhance the roster.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
  • Eddie Marsan also delivers a sympathetic turn as the sad sack dad worn down by the effects of capitalism and sometimes crippling OCD.
    — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Definition of crippling
Verb
  • Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
  • This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.
    — Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Definition of frightening
Verb
  • The driver hits Leatherface in the head with a wrench, incapacitating him long enough for the driver to run away and Sally to jump into the cab of a passing pickup truck.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 July 2026
  • Tabitha grabs one of the weird, spooky totem things and drives it through the chest of the scarecrow monster attacking Donna, killing it – or at least incapacitating it – and the scarecrows retreat.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Definition of incapacitating
Verb
  • These get forwarded across the internet, and soon masses of young people are surging into an urban plaza or park, often terrifying any adult who happens to be nearby.
    — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
  • Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is breathtaking and also terrifying with a 4-year-old along.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 17 May 2026
Definition of terrifying
Verb
  • Continuing to charge purchases, especially on the credit cards that are not enrolled in the plan, adds new interest at the same elevated rates while the original debt is still being resolved — undermining the entire point of the program.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • Nigerian news groups had in March complained to President Bola Tinubu, alleging Alphabet, Meta, and X were among firms whose extraction of content from local publishers was undermining the press industry.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • The young boy’s biggest concern is staying out of the crosshairs of Calavera (Mauro Guzmán), the neighborhood bully who seems destined to follow the same path as his intimidating older brother, Felix (Cosmo Gonzalez).
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 July 2026
  • Sangha said that gangsters intimidating immigrants in the Central Valley is far more prevalent than reported.
    — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of intimidating
Verb
  • But things are going to be missed, and Bungie now has to take drastic steps of disabling some gear, or aspects of gear, permanently, rather than being able to have the time and testing to fix or rebalance them.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • That said, Amazon also has a history of disabling apps that let users circumnavigate its home screen that Fire devices, including Fire Sticks and Fire TVs, have increasingly used for ads.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026
Definition of disabling
Verb
  • Maybe two or three groups of hoaxers out there at once, bumping into each other in the dark and scaring the scales off one another.
    — Star-Telegram staff, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 July 2026
  • There are multiple songs that could be (and were) covered by the Jackson 5 without scaring the teenyboppers, but Stone’s musical and lyrical depth is right there in the band’s most accessible album.
    — Al Shipley, SPIN, 7 July 2026
Definition of scaring

Browse Nearby Words

paralyzes
paralyzing
paramedic
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Cite this Entry

“Paralyzing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paralyzing. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on paralyzing

Nglish: Translation of paralyzing for Spanish Speakers

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