Meaning & use
paralyze
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Meanings
verbtransitivemedical
To make a person or body part unable to move or feel, through injury or disease.
Grammar: Takes an object, often passive: the accident paralyzed him, or he was paralyzed in the accident.
Patterns
- paralyze someone
- be paralyzed from the waist down
The spinal injury paralyzed his legs.
The venom can paralyze a small animal within seconds.
She was paralyzed on one side after the stroke.
verbtransitivefigurative
To leave someone so afraid or shocked that they cannot act or think clearly.
Grammar: Usually passive with by: paralyzed by fear.
Patterns
- be paralyzed by something
He was paralyzed by fear when the lights went out.
Self-doubt can paralyze a talented writer.
The news paralyzed her with worry.
verbtransitive
To bring a place, system, or activity to a halt.
Grammar: Takes things like a city, an industry or a network as the object.
Patterns
- paralyze something
A snowstorm paralyzed the whole city.
The strike paralyzed the country's railways.
A cyberattack paralyzed the hospital's computers.
Word forms
| third person singular | paralyzes |
|---|---|
| past tense | paralyzed |
| past participle | paralyzed |
| -ing form | paralyzing |
| British spelling | paralyse |
Common combinations
- paralyzed by fear
- The climber was paralyzed by fear on the ledge.
- partially paralyzed
- The patient was partially paralyzed after the fall.
- paralyze the economy
- The blockade could paralyze the economy.
- paralyze the city
- Heavy snow can paralyze the city for days.
- paralyzed from the waist down
- He was paralyzed from the waist down after the crash.
- paralyzing fear
- She felt a paralyzing fear of failure.
Synonyms and how they differ
- immobilize
- Immobilize means to prevent movement, often on purpose with a splint or restraint, not through damage.
- cripple
- Cripple suggests lasting damage and, for people, can sound offensive, so paralyze is safer.
- freeze
- Freeze is informal and suggests a sudden stop in action, usually from fear.
- incapacitate
- Incapacitate is formal and means to take away the ability to do things in general, not only to move.
Opposites
Word family
- paralysis noun
- loss of the ability to move or feel
- paralytic adjective
- affected by paralysis
- paralyzed adjective
- unable to move or act
- paralyzing adjective
- causing a loss of movement or action
Commonly confused: paralyze or paralyse?
paralyze vs paralyse
Paralyse is simply the British spelling of paralyze, with the same meaning.
Practice
A sudden storm ______ traffic across the whole region for hours.
Choose one answer.
Paralyzed here means brought to a halt. The other verbs look similar but mean matched, marched in procession, and imitated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “paralyze”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.