1
as in incapacitating
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 damaging
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in paralyzing
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
a wave of strikes crippled that nation's steel industry
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in harm
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of crippling
Big Think, 20 Oct. 2025
Perreira agrees that the financial imbalance in the game is crippling West Indies.
—Paul Newman, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
While many may worry that lending financial support to their children may be crippling them or enabling them, nearly 77% of the parents surveyed do so with some kind of stipulation or contingency.
—Essence, 19 Sep. 2025
Deadly floods in Asia have devastated crops, crippling already fragile food production.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Thomas’ absence has been crippling for the Giants in recent years.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
More importantly, if just one lock were disabled or destroyed, the passage from east to west would be essentially inoperable, crippling the United States and its military defenses.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
The accumulation of beta amyloid soaks up more and more lithium, further crippling the brain’s ability to clear it away.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
On December 7, 1941, 353 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans and crippling much of the Pacific Fleet.
—Big Think, 20 Oct. 2025
Perreira agrees that the financial imbalance in the game is crippling West Indies.
—Paul Newman, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 Sep. 2025
While many may worry that lending financial support to their children may be crippling them or enabling them, nearly 77% of the parents surveyed do so with some kind of stipulation or contingency.
—Essence, 19 Sep. 2025
Deadly floods in Asia have devastated crops, crippling already fragile food production.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Thomas’ absence has been crippling for the Giants in recent years.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2025
More importantly, if just one lock were disabled or destroyed, the passage from east to west would be essentially inoperable, crippling the United States and its military defenses.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
The accumulation of beta amyloid soaks up more and more lithium, further crippling the brain’s ability to clear it away.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crippling
Verb
-
He is accused of slipping incapacitating drugs into victims’ food or drinks before assaulting them between 2021 and 2024.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
16 Oct. 2025
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While the name suggests something far more trivial, significant damage to the ligaments of the metatarsophalangeal joint can be incapacitating.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Many on the left have been in an uproar of late, accusing Trump of damaging White House history as construction begins on a new White House ballroom.—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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People have filmed themselves shaving their heads, damaging property, ripping up passports and setting themselves on fire, The Sun reported, citing Ekaterina Mizulina, head of the Safe Internet League.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Discipline without optimism is paralyzing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Shortly after Henry’s death, Augusta suffered two paralyzing strokes, intensifying her and Ed’s isolated, co-dependent relationship before her death in 1945.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Over the summer the FDA convened a panel on the safety of certain antidepressants in pregnancy that tried to cast doubt on this research, ignoring the real harms of not treating depression or anxiety for pregnant people themselves and for their fetuses.—
Tanya Lewis,
Scientific American,
23 Oct. 2025
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The park also noted that visitors may unknowingly cause harm to the ecosystem of the area by removing natural items as rocks are often home to small plants, fungi, insects, and other unique species that only exist in that environment.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Given the disease’s wide range of trajectories and manifestations—from mild and manageable to severely disabling—some now regard it as a group of diseases, rather than a single one.—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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It is associated with hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impair daily functioning and can be disabling.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Including playoffs, Mayfield turned the ball over more than anyone else from 2023 through 2024, marring an otherwise fantastic two seasons in Tampa Bay.—
Jacob Robinson,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
An optional front rack on both models adds instant utility without marring the retro-fantastic looks.—
William Roberson,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Age proved to be a crucial issue ahead of the 2024 presidential election, undermining former President Joe Biden's bid for reelection as political rivals and many voters expressed concerns over his health and his fitness for office.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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Trump has a recent history of stirring the pot, undermining the diplomatic victories Bessent and Greer secured with China.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Schabusiness was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder, rape and mutilation back in 2023.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
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Jonathan Renteria was arrested on Sept. 11 and was charged with murder and the mutilation of human remains.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Crippling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crippling. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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