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Meaning & use

cerebral palsy

noun·Advancedmedical

Last updated

UK/ˌser.ə.brəl ˈpɔːl.zi/
US/ˌser.ə.brəl ˈpɔːl.zi/

Meanings

  1. noununcountablemedical

    A condition caused by damage to the brain before, during, or soon after birth, affecting movement and posture.

    Grammar: Uncountable: say 'she has cerebral palsy', not 'she has a cerebral palsy'.

    Patterns

    • have cerebral palsy
    • be born with cerebral palsy
    • a child with cerebral palsy
    • cerebral palsy affects someone

    Her son has cerebral palsy and uses a walker at school.

    Doctors diagnosed cerebral palsy when he was about eighteen months old.

    People with cerebral palsy may need physiotherapy to keep their muscles flexible.

  2. noununcountablemedicaltechnical

    The group of movement problems themselves, which can be mild or severe and take different forms.

    Grammar: Used as a general label for the condition in medical writing and news reports.

    Patterns

    • spastic cerebral palsy
    • mild cerebral palsy
    • cerebral palsy is caused by something

    There are several types of cerebral palsy, and spastic cerebral palsy is the most common.

    The charity supports research into the causes of cerebral palsy.

Common combinations

have cerebral palsy
About one in four hundred babies has cerebral palsy.
be born with cerebral palsy
He was born with cerebral palsy and has had therapy since childhood.
a child with cerebral palsy
The school hired a specialist to help children with cerebral palsy.
mild cerebral palsy
Her mild cerebral palsy mainly affects her balance.
cerebral palsy research
The foundation raises money for cerebral palsy research.

Synonyms and how they differ

CP
The standard short form, used mostly in medical notes and by people who deal with the condition daily; it is too informal for a first mention in careful writing.

Word family

cerebral adjective
Relating to the brain; also used informally to mean intellectual.
palsy noun
An old-fashioned word for paralysis, especially when it causes shaking.

Commonly confused: cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy? cerebral palsy or polio?

cerebral palsy vs muscular dystrophy

A different condition in which muscles weaken over time because of a genetic problem; cerebral palsy comes from brain damage and does not get worse in the same way.

cerebral palsy vs polio

An infectious disease that can paralyze people, now rare thanks to vaccines; it is not the same as cerebral palsy, which is not infectious.

Practice

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