paralyzing

verb

present participle of paralyze
1
as in crippling
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move a blizzard paralyzed the city for two days

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in frightening
to deprive of courage or confidence the school board is paralyzed by the threat of lawsuits for just about everything

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 paralyzing The disease can be paralyzing, or even fatal. — Ciara McCarthy 15, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 June 2026 Not vague discomfort, but deep, paralyzing fear. — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 With endless criteria, knowing exactly what to ask for from a pair of jean shorts is paralyzing. — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 25 June 2026 His grief was crushing, paralyzing, calamitous. — Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026 The tiniest decisions were paralyzing. — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 22 June 2026 Moorehead has followed Clark’s story from 2000, when the running back for Eisenhower High School suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in a game through his death in 2012. — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026 Barricades erected on key roads have essentially isolated the city of La Paz, Bolivia’s seat of government, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals. — Paola Flores, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026 Barricades erected on key roads have effectively isolated the city of La Paz, triggering fuel and food shortages, paralyzing transportation and preventing patients from reaching hospitals — causing at least seven deaths for lack of medical attention, the government says. — ABC News, 20 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paralyzing
  1. crippling
  2. frightening
  3. incapacitating
  4. terrifying
  5. undermining
  6. intimidating
  7. disabling
  8. scaring
Verb
  • Florida didn’t have the cap space to work out the shorter term deal without crippling its ability to make other moves this offseason to enhance the roster.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 July 2026
  • Eddie Marsan also delivers a sympathetic turn as the sad sack dad worn down by the effects of capitalism and sometimes crippling OCD.
    — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Definition of crippling
Verb
  • Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.
    — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
  • This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.
    — Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Definition of frightening
Verb
  • Tabitha grabs one of the weird, spooky totem things and drives it through the chest of the scarecrow monster attacking Donna, killing it – or at least incapacitating it – and the scarecrows retreat.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
  • One of four passengers in Bain’s car, 22-year-old Destiny Betts, suffered incapacitating injuries and was transported to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial from the scene, according to the report.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
Definition of incapacitating
Verb
  • Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is breathtaking and also terrifying with a 4-year-old along.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 17 May 2026
  • Facing the endless Cylon onslaught in the void of space is terrifying even in 2D battles, but many of Scattered Hopes' gut punches happen during unexpected narrative events or tough choices that doom entire ship populations.
    — Ian Stokes, Space.com, 15 May 2026
Definition of terrifying
Verb
  • Opposition parties and human rights organizations have accused Erdogan of undermining democracy and curbing freedom of expression.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
  • Allies include Brin’s Building a Better California, which is bankrolling two counter-measures aimed at undermining the billionaire tax.
    — Ben Paviour July 2, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • The masks are often vibrant and colorful but sometimes intimidating, depicting superheroes, animals or other symbolic figures.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
  • Superior Court Judge Alex Manning issued the order June 15 prohibiting the county’s top administrator from getting close to Amit Mehrotra, a neighbor in the Ellard subdivision in Roswell, and from harassing or intimidating Mehrotra or his family.
    — Reed Williams, AJC.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of intimidating
Verb
  • But things are going to be missed, and Bungie now has to take drastic steps of disabling some gear, or aspects of gear, permanently, rather than being able to have the time and testing to fix or rebalance them.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • That said, Amazon also has a history of disabling apps that let users circumnavigate its home screen that Fire devices, including Fire Sticks and Fire TVs, have increasingly used for ads.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026
Definition of disabling
Verb
  • Suddenly the seller is tiptoeing, managing the buyer's mood, terrified of saying the wrong thing and scaring them off.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • Two earthquakes jolted Venezuela with one-two punch on Wednesday, damaging buildings and scaring people who felt the violent shaking.
    — Miami Herald Staff, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026
Definition of scaring

Browse Nearby Words

paralyzes
paralyzing
paramedic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Paralyzing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paralyzing. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on paralyzing

Nglish: Translation of paralyzing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All