1
as in incapacitates
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the car crash may have crippled two people for life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in injures
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the collision so severely crippled the ship that it had to be towed into port
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in paralyzes
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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 cripples
Second, this ambiguity around responsibility cripples an organization’s ability to respond effectively.
—
Nelson Lim, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
—Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
This inefficiency is invisible during small-scale development tests but completely cripples an application’s performance under the heavy load of a real production environment.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
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
Nelson Lim, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
—Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
This inefficiency is invisible during small-scale development tests but completely cripples an application’s performance under the heavy load of a real production environment.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cripples
Verb
-
Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Derek gravely injures his hand.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Gafford injures ankle The Mavericks are likely to be without one of their major frontcourt pieces this preseason.—
Christian Clark,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The role is particularly noteworthy considering Dane announced earlier this year that he was diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that gradually paralyzes the body by destroying the nerve cells that control muscle movement.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
-
This paralyzes executives and creates fatigue.—
Nick Ryan,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Super Cruise includes gaze-tracking technology that disables the system when drivers aren’t watching the road.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Activating sport mode disables one-pedal driving.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The loss significantly damages Memphis’ American Conference and College Football Playoff hopes.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
-
An autoimmune condition that damages the stomach lining, like thyroid disease, can also cause atrophic gastritis.—
Carrie Madormo,
Health,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Their failure to do so undermines public trust in both the election process and the integrity of the institution itself.—
Rachel Royster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Oct. 2025
-
This undermines the religious liberty not only of non-Christian Americans but also of mainline Protestants, non-MAGA Catholics, and Black church traditions.—
Rev. Nathan Empsall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Valuing a project at cost of production rather than value in an arm’s length sale—common in all economic statistics—especially mars Chinese data.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The rising intolerance that results erodes social cohesion, undermines support for democratic norms and weakens trust in institutions.—
Andrew Rojecki,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Blocking them causes disruption to the cells’ energy-generating mitochondria and leads to oxidative stress, which further weakens cancer.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cripples.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripples. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share