as in disability
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Recent Examples of spastic paralysis
Over the past couple of months, Lizzo and Beyoncé were both called out for their use of a word that is considered a slur in the disability community that refers to people with spastic paralysis or cerebral palsy.
—
Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022
Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spastic paralysis
Noun
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The agency has reportedly cancelled or delayed more than a billion dollars of grants for programs like school desegregation and disability services.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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Family caregivers, who provide help to individuals with illness, disability or age-related needs, typically are unpaid and often have to scale back work hours or step away from their job altogether.—
Sarah Agostino,
CNBC,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Officials added that neither speed nor impairment appeared to be a factor in the crash.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
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These include unreported physical and mental impairments, housing insecurity, and a lack of high school diplomas and identification documents.—
Taylor Sisk,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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About a third experience some form of aura beforehand, often accompanied by debilitating symptoms from vomiting to vertigo, or, in worse cases, temporary blindness or hemiplegia, a paralysis down one side of the body.—
Matthew Ponsford,
WIRED,
19 Sep. 2024
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Related article Gaza’s chessboard of suffering: Tens of thousands on the move again as IDF issues new evacuation orders Julia suffers from a rare neurological disorder called alternating hemiplegia of childhood, or AHC.—
Nadeen Ebrahim,
CNN,
10 July 2024
Noun
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Two of the rats were paralyzed and unable to reach food or water, and a third had paresis and had trouble moving.—
Rob O'Dell,
The Arizona Republic,
23 June 2021
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After she was diagnosed with paresis, Ms. Dhegrae threw herself into research, spending up to 20 hours a day trawling through scientific journals and poring over her own medical history.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
21 Nov. 2019
Noun
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Ong continues to share her story about regaining her strength after paraplegia and wrote two books called Back on My Feet and The Heart-Centredness of Medicine.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
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In collaboration with Fudan University’s Huashan Hospital, researchers enabled a patient with high-level paraplegia to control a smart wheelchair and a robotic dog.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Manufactured by Canadian company Bowhead, the Ranger is a four-wheeler engineered for people with limited hand function, spinal cord injuries or quadriplegia, and for the elderly.—
Ben Coxworth
March 28,
New Atlas,
28 Mar. 2026
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Neuralink top officials’ public rhetoric about machine-human symbiosis and healthy human implantation diverges sharply from the company’s clinical work helping people with ALS and quadriplegia control a computer with their mind.—
O. Rose Broderick,
STAT,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Middlebrooks are currently staying at the house while their 4-year-old Casey, recovers from surgery for cerebral palsy.—
Nakell Williams,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
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McClintic, who had cerebral palsy, was in the care of a provider through Sacramento County’s In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority at the time of his death, according to the lawsuit filed last week in Sacramento Superior Court by his sister.—
Theresa Clift,
Sacbee.com,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Walker was diagnosed with a rare form of cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia) at 18 months, forcing him to wear leg braces throughout his childhood.—
McKinley Franklin,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2023
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Spastic diplegia primarily involves the legs, often causing stiff hip and leg muscles.—
Lauren Sieben,
SELF,
22 Mar. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Spastic paralysis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spastic%20paralysis. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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