CRIPPLES Synonyms: 167 Similar and Opposite Words

cripples

verb

present tense third-person singular of cripple

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

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

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 According to official figures, even when the thermometer plummets to minus 22 °F (-30 °C), a situation that cripples most electric vehicles, the Atto 8 can still execute a 20 % to 97% charge in just 12 minutes. — New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026 Federal illegality further cripples operations with banking and tax burdens. — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026 In the final version of the film, Furiosa captures Dementus, cripples him, brings him back to the Citadel. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026 The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport. — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026 These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness. — Andrew Rein, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026 Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cripples

Verb

The Martian tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, who becomes stranded on Mars after a dust storm incapacitates him.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 28 May 2026
Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.

— Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 24 Sep. 2025

Definition of incapacitates

Verb

Kosowski, prosecutors theorized, killed Cozzi with succinylcholine, a fast-acting drug that paralyzes muscles, and threw his body in a Collier County dumpster during a drive to Miami.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
The wasp gets its name from its reproductive cycle, where a female paralyzes a tarantula to serve as a live host for her larva.

— Sean Donnelly, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of paralyzes

Verb

Before installing certain malicious apps, Midnight Mimosa temporarily disables the Google Play Store app.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Among the new tools in the agency's arsenal is an artificial intelligence and radar-guided drone hunter, which disables enemy drones and captures them with a net.

— Norah O'Donnell, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of disables

Verb

There’s a sense that doubt would be a form of disloyalty to what came before you, or that admitting a weakness undermines the confidence of the people around you.

— Flavio Maluf, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Thiel is making a category error that undermines his entire argument.

— David Gibson, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of undermines

Verb

Penal Code 597 states that any person who who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal is guilty of a crime.

— Martha Ross, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2026
The attack only maims Aegon, who is left bedridden and unable to walk on his own.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 20 June 2026

Definition of maims

Verb

Especially the guy who bangs a wrecking ball against the historic East Wing to make room for an incongruous ballroom monstrosity, who mars the sacred Oval Office with gold glitter and paves over the lovely Rose Garden.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Jacob Whitehead Homophobic chant mars Mexico’s win Before the World Cup, the Mexican football federation launched a campaign that featured the heroes of the country’s 1986 World Cup side.

— Jack Lang, New York Times, 26 June 2026

Definition of mars

Browse Nearby Words

crippled

cripples

crippling

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Cripples.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cripples. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of cripples

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

grotesque

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes