1
as in to incapacitate
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to injure
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the collision so severely crippled the ship that it had to be towed into port
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3
as in to paralyze
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cripple
That crippled Huawei’s smartphone brand, once one of the world’s biggest.
—
Joe McDonald, ajc, 9 Mar. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared, and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Christina Goldbaum, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Feb. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Yaqoob Akbary Kiana Hayeri, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2023
If nothing is done, this could cripple the ISS.
—Kay Bailey Hutchison and Jane Harman, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for cripple
Joe McDonald, ajc, 9 Mar. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared, and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Christina Goldbaum, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Feb. 2023
Soon after, sanctions crippled the banking sector, food prices soared and hospitals filled with malnourished children.
—Yaqoob Akbary Kiana Hayeri, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2023
If nothing is done, this could cripple the ISS.
—Kay Bailey Hutchison and Jane Harman, WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for cripple
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cripple
Verb
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This decrease signifies a substantial revenue gap that could have incapacitated many companies.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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Near the Bering Strait, the crew spotted the Brunswick, incapacitated after striking ice and surrounded by other whalers preparing to buy off its goods.—
Francine Uenuma,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 June 2025
Verb
-
Juan Duran, and his wife, no name given, wait outside of Glass House Farms, where a relative was injured during a previous day immigration raid, on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, Calif.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 July 2025
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In recent weeks, WWE has teased some huge feuds for Gunther, including one with Seth Rollins, who was injured on Saturday, that seems unlikely given Rollins’ other rivalries and the fact that both stars are heels.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
Verb
-
The widespread arrests have paralyzed parts of the city where high numbers of immigrants work, such as the Flower District downtown.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
-
The toe-biter’s venom first paralyzes its prey and then dissolves its insides.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 July 2025
Verb
-
Keefe died from a fall and a head injury after suffering from a disabling condition, friends said.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
11 July 2025
-
Some of these technologies are essential for ensuring the proper functioning of the service or website and cannot be disabled, while others are optional but serve to enhance the user experience in various ways.—
Matthew Strauss,
Pitchfork,
11 July 2025
Verb
-
Anything that damages the trust between the vendor, Microsoft, and the user is as much a threat as the hackers themselves, in my never humble opinion.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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Driving through deep water can also damage a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
14 July 2025
Verb
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Media implies entertainment and undermines the responsibility that journalists are supposed to have to report the truth and hold those in power accountable.—
HG Biggs,
IndyStar,
11 July 2025
-
And then the leftist media, which is looking to completely undermine our culture and our civilization, and knows that these things turn social norms on their head, pick up these concepts and promote them.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
11 July 2025
Verb
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In another tense and sleepless night for Kyiv residents, with many of them dashing in the dark with children, pets and blankets to the protection of subway stations, at least 22 people were wounded, according to Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
11 July 2025
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One person was killed and two others were wounded when the gunman, Thomas Crooks, opened fire.—
Isabel van Brugen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
Verb
-
The Mets go the way of Francisco Lindor, and he’s been marred in his own slump this month.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
30 June 2025
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The last weekend of June in Indianapolis was marred by a rash of shootings that left seven dead and nine others injured.—
Noe Padilla,
IndyStar,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cripple.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripple. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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